10-20-2018, 10:12 PM | #45841 |
Posts: 61,119
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They should poach Cormier from WWE and bring him in for an angle. "Cody and Cormier! Cody and Cormier!" Okay, maybe not.
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10-21-2018, 01:41 AM | #45842 |
Former TPWW Royalty
Posts: 66,602
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For those with a Netflix account in the US, you only have till November 15th to watch or rewatch the first two seasons of Lucha Underground. After that Netflix is pulling those seasons from the service due to their expiring contract with LU.
https://twitter.com/luchablog/status...10192283959296 |
10-21-2018, 01:52 AM | #45843 | |
Taller than Adam Cole
Posts: 10,876
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Quote:
And I can't help but think that the only reason why Zeus was the big bad instead of another character that was in the movie who was both more charismatic and a better worker, was because Vince couldn't pay Stan Hansen enough money for the post movie program for it to be worthwhile to him. |
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10-21-2018, 02:24 AM | #45844 |
Hey Mister!
Posts: 54,947
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I don't recall Zeus being that good. Kind of shocked he's the triple crown champion. If you're gonna poach from AJPW, some names I would consider are Kento Miyahara, Yuji Hino, Suwama, Naoya Nomura, Yumi Aoyagi, Shuji Kondo, Shuji Ishikawa
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10-21-2018, 02:32 AM | #45845 |
Posts: 61,119
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I haven't heard any buzz about Zeus, so I kind of envision him as a dude that looks like a million bucks but probably doesn't wrestle that way. But Jesus Christ, does he look the part or what?
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10-21-2018, 03:14 AM | #45846 |
Posts: 61,119
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On the Jericho/Jim Ross/Jaguars rumors:
* Someone on another board was saying, and I don't know their credibility, mind you (they said wait for Meltzer and Johnson on it), that the rumors are "65% false" and "very premature." * Jim Ross is apparently telling people that he will only be an announcer. His WWE deal expires shortly and he has negged on re-upping. * Cody's apparently been talking about breaking down barriers and all this sort of stuff in 2019. * Whatever exists of current plans is looking for a late-2019/early-2020 launch. * Barry Bloom is said to be involved. He's JR's agent and is also still representing Bill Goldberg. He was taking meetings in Japan regarding it. * Jim Ross has been sending feelers out to select WWE talent. Chris Jericho has been working the New Japan side. * Tony Khan, son of Shahid, is said to be heavily involved and a big wrestling fan. He follows Omega, Cody, The Bucks and Marty Scurll on Twitter. Tony Khan is worth $4.5 million himself. Shahid is worth $6.9 billion. Vince McMahon is worth $3.2 billion. * JR hinted on his podcast that he expects some big moves between now and the ROH/New Japan Madison Square Garden show, specifically in response to Omega and The Bucks, and suggested that his opinion is informed and not just baseless speculation. He's picked up "little bits from here, little bits from there." * Promotion is said to be based in Las Vegas. Usually news about new promotions leaves me underwhelmed, but having such a big backer in Khan and people with the reputation of a Jericho, Ross and Bloom involved makes me think that if anything has the chance to be a new "WCW," then it'll be something like this. The environment is the best it's ever been. Last edited by Mr. Nerfect; 10-21-2018 at 03:59 AM. |
10-21-2018, 03:38 AM | #45847 |
Quark is Less Impressed.
Posts: 38,371
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10-21-2018, 03:56 AM | #45848 |
Posts: 61,119
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As opposed to getting on AXS, if the Jericho/JR deal has smoke to it, I hope they really try and get onto a more prominent cable network. A TBS, TNT or Paramount would obviously be the best thing for them. With Paramount you can lean on promotional possibilities with Bellator, but they might still be a bit on edge about wrestling after dealing with TNA.
I doubt TBS or TNT really want to work with wrestling again either after their nightmares, but maybe having a backer like Khan can give them some serious edge. A return of wrestling to TBS could be a "homecoming" sort of thing that they might really go for. MTV might be hungry for something. They lose 29% of viewers each year, so having something that they can try and plug the hole with might be give negotiations some oomph. |
10-21-2018, 04:52 AM | #45849 |
Posts: 61,119
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The average show WWE puts on costs $885,000. Now this ignores start-up costs, but that's $46 million a year for one show every week. Vince gets about $100 million a year per hour of television. But to cover that overhead, not including what you'd make off merchandise, gate revenue, streams, etc. -- you could cover your production costs with $50 million per hour. They'd probably be looking to do two hours per week, so if they can lock themselves in for $100 million in rights fees for a year, essentially half of what Vince is asking for, they could price him right back down come next negotiations.
God damn, the whole industry would change. Vince is counting on that sweet, sweet television money, but if Khan's hypothetical group simply wanted to run healthy, they could burst the bubble on Vince. Talent would no doubt be cut and eventually Vince would start trying, but what can he really do if, say, USA Network drops him and picks up Khan's group in a few years? They could also treat talent in a way that gives them more benefits, etc. They could really edge some structural changes that challenge the way WWE does business. And once they've got the Khans as backers, a network is going to put that money in so they might be sitting pretty wealthy pretty quickly. |
10-21-2018, 05:53 AM | #45850 |
#R.I.P.U.S.A.
Posts: 35,439
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Given WWE's history with NBCUniversal, I have my doubts USA Network will be willing to drop RAW anytime soon.
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10-21-2018, 09:50 AM | #45851 |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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10-21-2018, 09:50 AM | #45852 |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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I can only assume that WWE gave FBE a bunch of money to advertise Evolution and they come up with that.
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10-21-2018, 10:37 AM | #45853 |
Posts: 58,595
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I love these exaggerated Kevin Dunn edits
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10-21-2018, 12:05 PM | #45854 | |
Posts: 61,119
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Quote:
Obviously the story is still developing and it might even be complete bullshit -- AXS have no reason to deny the story if there's anything going on their end -- but a big-time promotion with a more humble asking price for television rights is something that would completely change the game on Vince. It would be devastating to Vince's bottom-line right now given how crucial these TV deals are to their profitability. And it would incure his wrath. Jim Ross and Chris Jericho, if they are as involved as speculated, would have to be very content to never work again if they "betrayed" Vince this way (as I imagine he would see it, and we all know how petty he gets during a wrestling "war"). It would honestly probably be the safer promotional tactic for them/Khan to ask a higher price of TV stations -- or something closer to $80 million in rights fees per hour -- because then they're not pricing out Vince and rather benefiting, mutually, from the environment Vince has created. They can all make money -- yay. The actual transgression would be changing the asking price for content so Vince needs to adapt to them, and given the size and scope of WWE, would be mean they'd need to do some serious restructuring and downsizing. Another completely awful move they could pull (well, brilliant, if you look at it from their "underdog" perspective), would be to treat talent as if they aren't independent contractors. If you give them benefits, etc., you completely change the way contracts are structured. When deals come up, you better believe talent are making sure Vince gives them the same sort of deal or they jump ship, or that shit finds its way out into the media and Vince and WWE are tyrants who don't treat their employees with as much respect as the babyfaces in the Khan camp. Honestly, given the position WWE are in, it's actually a wonderful time to take the fight to giant Vince. The television landscape is in a curious place, and the money that is just there for the taking given what TV needs and what WWE is locked into means you can shift around and play things very sneakily. More and more people seem to compare WWE to later stage WCW, and that comparison is very scary, because as soon as something "hotter" and more youthful comes along, they're going to start feeling the pressures from their financial commitments. I don't think they can adapt to changes in the form. They've got five hours of network television a week they are committed to producing. Compare that to a more focused, say, two and it's night and day. WWE once had demand for five hours of television a week. Well, not really, but they did for four. They used to have a product that demanded hours, and now they have hours that need a product. They're somewhat stuck with that model. They are far more vulnerable than people give them credit for. That's why pyro hasn't made a comeback with their fat Saudi checks. They're the most profitable they have ever been, for now -- but the housing market doesn't always keep going up. They are one major shift away from hemorrhaging all that pretty money. What happens if they have to take a hit from making $500 million a year on television money to only making $325 million a year off their television? It doesn't seem like much of a hit, because that's still a shit-ton of money, but what happens to their stock price? What comes out of the next negotiations if their ratings, for example, can't compete with a new promotion that can hold viewers because they aren't smashing five hours of content a week over people's heads, and is more compelling? What if they don't need to roll around in rights fee money because they are fine making a tiny margin of profit off that and are fine making the rest back on attendance and advertising, or other things WWE can't depend on, exactly, and they can't snap their fingers and fix? Honestly, I've wanted someone to take the fight to WWE for so long, and I've never bought into the position that "no one can touch Vince now." Bullshit. All someone needs is enough money to get something off the ground and for it to be on television and it's a perfectly viable competitor. New companies pop up in entertainment fields all the time. There are changes in tastes and companies lose flavor, favor and consumers can dictate the market in a lot of cases. A good product with a good time slot on a good network can really slice into what Vince currently controls, and I'm not sure they can just "get good" anymore when it's such a stale product and they are so entrenched in bad habits. But if it does make wrestling good -- cool. WWE would benefit from those changes, and it's possible a rival promotion would too. Ultimately, the fans benefit. Ah, fuck, I'm pipe-dreaming. |
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10-21-2018, 12:53 PM | #45855 |
His name is Jeff Harvey
Posts: 5,256
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Jesus dude no one is gonna read any of these giant posts about some supposed promotion that's not really gonna happen.
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10-21-2018, 01:21 PM | #45856 |
Let me talk to ya
Posts: 11,749
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He's just getting his expectations up so if it does happen it'll be a huge disappointment to him and he wont have to like it.
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10-21-2018, 02:20 PM | #45857 |
boop/bop/beep
Posts: 38,430
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That post was actually insane. Mind you Noid's an obsessive compulsive (self admitted) so I understand. But he's also an asshole so fuck him.
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10-21-2018, 04:18 PM | #45858 |
Best Poster
Posts: 56,950
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Lol Jesus Christ. Some money mark is not going to put a dent in the WWE.
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10-21-2018, 04:33 PM | #45859 |
Quark is Less Impressed.
Posts: 38,371
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10-21-2018, 06:16 PM | #45860 |
Posts: 61,119
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10-21-2018, 06:33 PM | #45861 |
Posts: 61,119
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It probably won't even happen, lol. I'm obviously getting ahead of myself. It's such an interesting business (well, not as far as on-air stuff goes) because of the Vince bluff that he's the only guy that can do wrestling. Someone needs to come along with something, because wrestling has been dying since WCW went under.
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10-21-2018, 07:20 PM | #45862 | |
Posts: 61,119
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Quote:
That's obviously not the same as having a WrestleMania or being able to draw people to it, but Jesus, if the dude wants his own wrestling promotion he can start his own wrestling promotion. The big question is whether or not anyone would want one. Recently, with the news that ROH were going into Madison Square Garden and the online jokes that Vince did not want to take on Sinclair Broadcasting or their lawyers should they genuinely get ruffled about things -- Khan is worth more than all of Sinclair Broadcasting's assets put together. By $1 billion. This dude's sneezes are worth more than TNA. I'm just pointing out that rich people exist, really. A lot of them don't own sports teams (some of them do), or have a millionaire son who is the "owner and chairman of TruMedia Networks, a Boston-based engineering firm specializing in innovative sports analytics solutions for leagues, franchises, and media partners across the athletic industry" and a fan of wrestling. Last edited by Mr. Nerfect; 10-21-2018 at 07:35 PM. |
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10-21-2018, 08:45 PM | #45863 |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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I tried my best to cut down on gifs and images this week and I think I did pretty well until I got to SmackDown.
SmackDown is just Gif City this week. Raw: • Raw this week was in Atlanta and it was one of those Raw's that was "flipped" or "mirrored" or whatever you want to call it, so instead of the hard camera being where it usually is, it was the opposite side, so it was kinda like watching Raw via a mirror. SPOILER: show As a kid, I always use to wonder why it was only like that when they went to Atlanta and I always hated it when everything was flipped. I'd watch the intro and look forward to the show and then I'd see that the camera was on the other side and all that and it would just kill the buzz I had. I also noticed (by watching today) that it also threw off some wrestlers as they would go to the wrong side (and by wrong side, I mean the side they would normal go to) for example, Booker T went to the wrong side when he wanted a microphone, Regal did the same when he wanted his European Championship and even Vince himself went to the wrong side when he wanted to grab the bell during his match. Anyway, this is also the episode of Raw that Austin no-showed. You can tell that by the beginning when Vince randomly appears and pretty much rips him apart and then randomly challenges Ric Flair to a No Holds Barred Match for 100% ownership of WWE. At the time, I didn't think anything of it but now, it's quite clear that this was all incredibly rushed at the last second because Austin no-showed. I'm now wondering what the plan was originally going to be for Austin and Flair and the whole "Flair is Austin's Personal Assistant" storyline. I wonder how that would have worked out. • We see a backstage segment with the nWo and I remember it all so vividly as it's the one where Booker T sings his own version of Shawn Michaels' theme and then corpses near the end. • We then see Booker T backstage and Goldust appears dressed as Undercover Brother. He then says something that I didn't notice at first but now, it sounds like Goldust insinuated that Shawn Michaels is racist and that he doesn't like black people. Goldust said "I know Shawn Michaels very well though and if he's that same person that he used to be, well then Book, I'm afraid my feeling is that your days are numbered in the nWo. Booker T then asks him what he's talking about and Goldust says "Let's just say that Shawn Michaels isn't exactly a fan of our kind". I wouldn't have gotten that vibe however if Goldust hadn't said all that as he was dressed as a fictional black man, massive afro wig and all. • Terri is interviewing Molly Holly and Molly brings out a poster of Terri and points out how she can practically see Terri's nipples on the poster. She then tells Terri that she and Trish set a horrible example for women today by exploiting their bodies. Trish then appears and claims she knows why Molly dislikes her and Terri so much and it's because she (Molly) has a "big ass". Trish then begins to make fun of Molly Holly and her ass whilst Terri laughs. After a match is made, Molly walks away covering up her ass with a magazine whilst Trish and Terri watch her and laugh. If that promo was done today, Trish & Terri would be seen as heels. It was weird watching it as it did feel like Trish and Terri were being heels but at the time, it would have felt like they were faces like they were. Me feeling like that has probably got to do with so much "body positive" stuff being on our screens these days, including WWE TV with the most recent being during Alexa Bliss' feud with Nia Jax. Both Bliss and Mickie James made fun of Nia Jax because of the way she looked and that she was bigger but they were heels. So what were face actions in 2002 are now heel actions in 2018. Also, I'm sure today that a woman being told that she has a "big ass" would be seen as a compliment. I could be wrong but women seem to chase having a big ass and enjoy flaunting it when they do. And finally though, for the record, I've always liked Molly's ass. • European Championship Match now and title matches seem to be a weekly thing back in 2002, which is great. Bradshaw vs Regal and this is Chris Nowinski's debut as he jumped the barricade and threw brass knucks towards Regal. Regal won the match and they both left together. • Trish Stratus vs Molly Holly and the match was around five minutes or so long but for those five minutes, Lawler constantly made "big ass jokes" about Molly Holly. At one point he called her "Blubber Butt". How times have changed. If Lawler did that now, he'd be vilified all over social media and hoards of angry feminists and equality campaigners would be calling for him to lose his job. Something like that anyway. There was one good exchange during that match though that again, went over my head as a kid but now it got a bit of a laugh out of me. Lawler: Do you think Trish would marry me? JR: King, how many wives have you had!? Lawler: Oh, I've had several wives JR. Three of them my own! • King of the Ring Qualifying Match between Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero, with the ending appearing to be botched when the referee counted three even though Guerrero had his shoulder up and RVD was still getting into position for his pin. After the three count both RVD and Guerrero appeared to be confused at first. There was a shot of a sign during RVD's entrance and I can only assume that back in 2002, Vince & Co. had no idea was 420 referenced. • After around a month without his motorcycle, Undertaker appears on one. During his promo towards Triple H, he said that the only shot he (HHH) is going to get is "me kicking your face right off your head". A part of me thinks what he meant to say was "me kicking your head off your shoulders" or "me kicking your face in" but his brain wanted to say both at the same time. It has to be either one as what he said doesn't really sound right or make much sense. • King of the Ring Qualifying Match between Bubba Ray Dudley and Brock Lesnar and this is the debut of Brock Lesnar's signature theme. At one point of the match Paul Heyman hits Bubba from behind outside the ring and Bubba just turns around and stares at him. Heyman then lets out a very audible "Oh Shit!" before jumping behind the announce table. • Shawn Micheals starts his promo and immediately says "WWF". He then sarcastically corrects himself (I remember all that). He later says that he's been watching the nWo and that there is something that "stands out" to him. Later, he tells X-Pac that he is "the most talented performer in our business today" he then Super Kicked Booker T (which I remember so vividly) and tells him that he's "the problem". Now, with what Goldust said earlier, and Micheals himself saying that something "stands out" to him in the nWo and that it's "the problem" and kicking Booker in the face, it really does make Michaels come across as being a massive racist. • Main Event match between Vince and Flair and not much happened other than Vince hitting flair with the bell but it not producing a cheap bell sound effect like the bell did on SmackDown last week. Maybe both brands have different bells and Raw's bell was broken at that time? SmackDown: • At the beginning of SmackDown, we saw a recap of Raw and Flair was portrayed as the hero during it, we saw him getting the upper hand of Vince along with heroic music playing. This also seemed to be the case during Raw when JR kept singing Flair's praises and defending him even though the previous weeks, Flair was a heel and JR practically hated him. I'm sure however that this sudden change all had to do with Austin walking out. • There's a contract signing for the Undisputed Championship match at King of the Ring to start off SmackDown and Undertaker comes out without his motorcycle, even though on Raw he did. Triple H then nearly kills a man with a wooden chair. SPOILER: show The contract signing was just a setup and Triple H gets attacked by the security that were there but he demolishes them all and bring out a sledgehammer which makes Undertaker and Vince run away. Triple H demands Undertaker comes back and threatens not to leave the ring until Undertaker appears. A break has just finished and Triple H is still in the ring but Billy, Chuck and Rico are at the top of the ramp and they tell Triple H to get out of the ring as Rico has a match tonight (I always like it when we see interactions like this, when it's interactions between guys you wouldn't normal expect or see). Anyway, Triple H then starts making gay jokes towards them because it's 2002. He then manages to get Vince to come out after threatening to break a camera. • King of the Ring Qualifying Match between Test and The Hurricane and after the match, Jamie Noble and Nidia come out to attack Hurricane and Noble is now wearing his usual jean shorts attire, even though when he made his debut last week backstage, he wore tights. • King of the Ring Qualifying Match between Tajiri and Hardcore Holly and I've never noticed it until now how badly SmackDown was edited. SPOILER: show Along with stuff like in that gif (which I've noticed happens a lot), there were times where you could tell that Cole and Tazz's lines were recorded later in a studio and also times where their lines has been either removed or added as you could see Cole and Tazz in the background either not talking or one was talking but you were hearing the other. • I'm also surprised that they actually showed this sign on TV. SPOILER: show I was thinking maybe it was a mistake as the camera slowly moves away from it but it if was, then it would have been edited out from the broadcast all together. Also, Triple H made gay jokes earlier so I guess back then, WWE were fine with anyone making gay jokes. Wrestler or fan. • Reverend D-Von does his much known promo on masturbation where Faarooq comes out and declares that he masturbates. I don't know why that was the topic of this promo. Also, the match was nine seconds long. • Trish Stratus & Linda (Tough Enough II Winner) vs Ivory & Jackie (Tough Enough II Winner) and this was Jackie's debut and she didn't suck. • Backstage we see Vince and Stacy and at the door is Dawn Marie and her randomly shiny boobs. SPOILER: show After nobody answers the door, we see the most uncomfortable kiss of all time. SPOILER: show I legitimately felt bad for Stacy. • Undertaker & Angle vs Triple H & Hulk Hogan but Hogan got attacked before the match so he wasn't there. During the match, Triple H hit Undertaker with a chair but didn't get disqualified but 35 seconds later he hit Undertaker with a sledgehammer and then gets disqualified. After the match, Hogan comes out and attacks Angle and this is the episode of SmackDown that Kurt Angle is first seen completely bald. Even though SmackDown was recorded back then and quite heavily edited, you could tell by the noise of the pop that was generated from seeing Angle's bald head was legit as it sounds nothing like the cheers in WWE's sound library. Also, the amount of flashes from photographs being taken was crazy. All that because of a bald head. SPOILER: show I think maybe that was the last time a moment (not an entrance) on WWE television got that amount of flashes from photographs being taken, as now we all use our phones to take pictures and they don't really need a flash to produce a good photo. • Finally, I'll end with this photo with no context. |
10-21-2018, 09:01 PM | #45864 | |
Former TPWW Royalty
Posts: 66,602
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Quote:
Same for why Cena suddenly stopped using gay insults towards his opponents for promos a couple years later since GLAAD and maybe others threatened to pull their sponsorship deals. |
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10-22-2018, 02:52 AM | #45865 |
Former TPWW Royalty
Posts: 66,602
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Seems Zach Ryder might be starting to branch away from the WWE. Recently changed his Youtube channel name to be under his real name and is also starting a new podcast show soon with Curt Hawkins (also under his real name).
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10-22-2018, 04:15 AM | #45866 |
Trickster Demon
Posts: 59,781
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— MELLA I$ MONEY (@CarmellaWWE) October 21, 2018 |
10-22-2018, 04:43 AM | #45867 |
Quark is Less Impressed.
Posts: 38,371
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Why did they give her Sasha Banks color hair anyways? |
10-22-2018, 06:19 AM | #45868 |
Posts: 61,119
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I really can’t stand Carmella as a performer, but she does look phenomenal there.
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10-22-2018, 07:15 AM | #45869 | |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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Quote:
Personally, I never saw anything wrong with making Rico a heel because of it all. I think it all worked out perfectly. It just all made sense. It was a good storyline. It's stuff like GLAAD's reaction to it all that I hate when it comes to stuff like that. Rico was never actually gay by the way, he was just flamboyant at times and it was just insinuated that he was gay because of it. GLAAD were fine with Rico and the insinuation that he was gay until he turned heel and it just came across to me that GLAAD's reaction to it all was saying "Gay people can't be bad. All gay people are good. If you imply that a gay person is bad, then you're homophobic". Bad gay people do exist and also, it's a fictitious character that's part of a storyline on a TV show. It wasn't like the WWE created the storyline to mock or ridicule homosexuality. They built a storyline around the insinuation from fans that Billy, Chuck and Rico were all gay. In the world of kayfabe, Rico knew that they all weren't gay but he knew the fans thought they were, so he exploited it to get what he wanted but he knew Billy & Chuck would crack at the wedding, so he had 3 Minute Warning appear to punish Billy & Chuck for ruining his plans. Whatever though, maybe it's because I'm not gay but I've just never understood the backlash to Billy & Chuck's wedding. I've always felt the reaction from GLAAD and the LGBT community was a bit over the top. |
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10-22-2018, 07:20 AM | #45870 |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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10-22-2018, 07:20 AM | #45871 |
King K Cool
Posts: 28,472
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She looks much better than that photo but that's just my opinion.
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10-22-2018, 09:04 AM | #45872 |
Posts: 61,119
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Oh, I wasn't really looking at her face.
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10-22-2018, 09:12 AM | #45873 |
( ._.)
Posts: 14,007
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Cool King should have his own thread for the raw reviews I enjoy reading them each week.
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10-22-2018, 09:31 AM | #45874 | |
Posts: 61,119
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Quote:
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10-22-2018, 09:58 AM | #45875 |
Tongue my Fartbox
Posts: 5,363
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Never realised Austin also did a sit out tombstone and injured another wrestler. |
10-22-2018, 12:11 PM | #45876 |
President of Freedonia
Posts: 58,215
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Rico was fucking awesome
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10-22-2018, 12:11 PM | #45877 |
President of Freedonia
Posts: 58,215
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Rico's legal name is Americo Sebastiano Costantino
wonder if he's Italian |
10-22-2018, 12:56 PM | #45878 |
Tongue my Fartbox
Posts: 5,363
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10-22-2018, 01:13 PM | #45879 |
is brat
Posts: 88,143
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I think she normally looks way better than that pic personally
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10-22-2018, 01:50 PM | #45880 |
boop/bop/beep
Posts: 38,430
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