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Post by freeze Austin on Jul 21, 2021 2:51:09 GMT -5
So the BEST case scenario is this is for someone like Sami who is basically a parody of Vince's hate for non-casual wrestling fans?
Yikes.
When you're fighting a PR battle (even in kayfabe) against your own fans who are STILL with you when everyone with sense gave up and stopped watching several years ago, you've already lost. I mean I'm not surprised they seemingly haven't learned anything and have done no self-reflection about running off loyal fans and talent, but still.... yikes. They really aren't going to learn until it's too late.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jul 13, 2021 2:04:43 GMT -5
I'm not sure what the crossover between WWE fans and BTS fans is. I live in middle America and I'm outside of their target demo, but I do listen to one of the three modern pop stations we get here (compared to the 500 country and Christian stations), and I've never heard any of those stations play one of their songs. Not to say they aren't popular, but in many areas in the U.S. you'd have to specifically be searching online for their music, the radio stations aren't going to expose you to it. If WWE were to bring them for a performance I'd be mindful of which city and state I did that in. New York and L.A. would likely give them an entirely different reception than Kentucky and Alabama or parts of Florida, etc. We don't need the U.S. (and pro wrestling) involved in another embarrassing international incident with idiot fans booing a beloved foreign musical act.
Also, I doubt BTS performing at Wrestlemania or SummerSlam would be enough to entice a lot of their fans who may not be WWE fans to tune into Raw the next night and watch 3 hours of bad and boring TV.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jul 13, 2021 1:02:23 GMT -5
LOL, no.
Austin was probably the one and only time where they had a guy who wasn't earmarked from day one as a future main event star to be pushed who got over to an insane level and they actually built around him instead of attempting to kill his momentum right away or making him champion but only giving him pre-main event title defenses.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jul 7, 2021 17:39:06 GMT -5
He's probably appropriately rated by most fans, but of the two options I'll go with underrated because in-ring I think he got a lot more out of what someone with his athletic ability should've. He was a world class promo and made it to the top and got over in a way that few guys in his era were able to despite not having a ton of connections in the wrestling business/WWE prior to joining it, not being big or having the typical WWE Champion look (though he did have a unique look), having an erratic control freak boss that loves to script everything, and I think even Punk would admit he didn't have the best personality backstage and wasn't the easiest guy to get along with.
At the end of his run you could tell he was really struggling with injuries and his dissatisfaction with his positioning on the card, and I think he probably got out at the right time for his time to be remembered fondly and leave those who enjoyed him wanting a little more.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jul 7, 2021 2:15:46 GMT -5
It's just interesting to note all of the petty shit WWE has gotten mad about and/or fired people over, but something like this that can actually impact the lives of people outside of the talent and company involved will in all likelihood get swept under the rug (aka fine/quick suspension) and at best only mildly irritate the folks in corporate.
Even if Jimmy doesn't get fired or get serious about going to rehab and fixing whatever his problems are, I would hope that he gets his license revoked for a long time or at the very least one of those breathalyzer devices put on his car (I know neither option is 100% foolproof but it's better than doing nothing and at least it'll be on record for next time), but he lives in Florida which is basically a utopia for people who want to live "100% free from government control", community health and safety be damned, so I've got my doubts about that. It really is a shame how flippantly our legal system and society seems to take DUI's when at the same time a counterfeit $20 bill can get you a death sentence if you look a certain way and run in to the wrong cop. There's not just two separate systems, there's a complete disconnect in the severity of crimes that seem to get a pass and the ones that are taken seriously. Kinda says a lot about us, what we value, and what we don't.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jun 2, 2021 21:40:49 GMT -5
What's remarkable is I haven't watched RAW in about 4 years but I usually knew what was going on by following other twitter accounts and friends that would basically hate watch it as well as listening to the Meltzer reviews but now all the accounts I follow and friends I have just...stopped watching. We keep saying "oh they're only down to the hardcores now" but we might see WWE even run those people out This is true for me. I was a Raw "hardcore" since the mid-90s and I've complained about the show since the mid-2000s (but still watched and praised things that I thought they did well), yet still week after week I watched despite liking the show less and less as the years went on. I kept seeing on forums and twitter about how "people keep complaining but next week they're still going to watch and that's why things never change", and I thought "Huh? You know, that's right, I probably should just stop watching this show." I think the last time I consistently watched Raw was 2015/2016ish. I gave Smackdown a try during the brand split but I even gave up on it as a consistent watch in late 2019. I thought Raw was bad when I stopped watching it, but I listened to John and Wai's review of the show this week and it just sounds like another realm of bleak. The same weak/boring/stagnant storytelling and character progression, terrible backstage segments, and THREE HOURS, now with such little star power. This is what happens when you push for the brand to get over instead of the talent.
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Post by freeze Austin on Jun 1, 2021 2:12:35 GMT -5
Just speaking for myself, I didn't agree with Cena's apology, but I'm more worried about the fact that WWE literally has a ton of talent they put on TV each week who are wrapped up in a cult that tries to destroy peoples lives if they refuse to support their political agenda or favorite ex-President by baselessly accusing them of smuggling children and drinking blood.
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Post by freeze Austin on May 28, 2021 9:13:20 GMT -5
AKA The Exclusive Alliance To Re-Sign Daniel Bryan
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Post by freeze Austin on May 22, 2021 21:23:58 GMT -5
Nakamura and Boogs is a pairing I didn't know I needed until I got it and now I need more.
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Post by freeze Austin on May 21, 2021 13:51:28 GMT -5
The NXT backstage over the last year or two has got to be one of the most brutal toxic work environments I can think of.
I was under the impression this generation was all about being gamers and being chill, looks like they're outnumbered by the forced sex creeps and conspiracy cultists/guys looking to replace one self-destructive addiction for another.
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Post by freeze Austin on May 18, 2021 11:14:04 GMT -5
Imagine getting seriously injured AND worst match of the year honors for this bullshit.
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Post by freeze Austin on May 6, 2021 10:51:29 GMT -5
The talk of DB going from promotion to promotion for a while is interesting, but he's talked that up before only to stay with WWE. I think he will re-sign and the most realistic best case scenario is he works NXT or is a "brand free agent" where he gets to jump between brands and only do programs that he wants, while also being allowed to do some outside "dream matches" on the indies. Even if WWE doesn't want him to show up on NJPW or AEW or ROH, maybe work a deal to do a match against some of those promotions talent at a "neutral" promotion and you don't even have to bring it up on your TV that it's even happening if it truly bugs you that much.
I do hope that at the very least with this deal they finally promote him as the special attraction he should be and not just an afterthought with name value they have no ideas for and just randomly throw in to put over their main eventers. Get more out of him than just that. His feuds should be special. A win over him should feel special and be treated like a big deal.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 9, 2021 10:09:42 GMT -5
Between Nia's hole and Charly on the post-show repeatedly saying "DP" and how it has a nice ring to it, it's clear the women's talent have turned a work into a shoot, brother, and gone into business for themselves, just looking to get a "POP" from those in the back... perhaps in more than one way!
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 4, 2021 5:18:18 GMT -5
I don't see either one going anywhere for a while. Roman has more connections to Hollywood, but I'm not sure either has amazing acting chops. Although I suppose if that's something to base it on, a lot of actors in movies that Showtime and Netflix have on their apps would be out of a job because there's some truly F-level scripts and acting out there.
I will say that Rollins is for sure a WWE lifer, I can never imagine him leaving for another promotion and he's one of the few guys that seems better suited for WWE. Like he's truly bought in to that mentality and what they do. Like with Orton, he'll be a guy that's probably never seen as "the" guy, but always bouncing back and forth between upper mid-card and world champion. With Roman, I get the sense that the second he gets demoted from the centerpiece spot is when he'll bounce. To be fair, there's a long list of guys who didn't want to stick around just to be the warm up act after they were presented as the top guy for a long time.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 3, 2021 12:03:00 GMT -5
I still think there's a grain of gold hidden in this turd if they chose to polish it. My idea for salvaging the 24/7 title without changing how it works would be that the usual shenanigans continue, BUT a couple of times a year at their big special events, they announce ahead of time that the 24/7 champ gets a buy into whatever they have coming up. Like 3 weeks ahead of the MITB they announce that the 24/7 champion will be in the match, whoever that may be at the time, or the next time they have a contender's tournament for either of the top titles, the 24/7 champion automatically gets a buy into the quarterfinals, or at the next Rumble the champion gets an automatic #25-30 draw. All of a sudden all the 24/7 geeks go into a mad scramble and things get way more intense and the viewers have a reason to care about who the champion is because they might to get see them move up the card. Of course all of that would require long term planning, so it's pretty much impossible. I love this idea. So that means it'll never happen.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 2, 2021 22:32:32 GMT -5
I think Balor is a lot more serious of a possibility than most seem to believe. Edge is talking like he wants to bounce around the different shows doing dream matches instead of just half-assing it or only working mostly with one or two different guys like most of the legends do and I respect the hell out of that. Remains to be seen whether or not they'll actually let him do something like that.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 2, 2021 20:33:45 GMT -5
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 2, 2021 16:04:12 GMT -5
As good of a non-title match as they can book.
Kinda wasted those good recent promos with DB and Paul E., though.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 2, 2021 14:03:16 GMT -5
Orton with a Steve From Blues Clues gimmick is an Orton I can support.
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Post by freeze Austin on Feb 2, 2021 13:52:39 GMT -5
I wouldn't rule out Edge challenging Balor. He's Edge's favorite guy in the company and it's the main match he wants to do, and would probably give NXT a ratings boost vs. AEW in the Wrestlemania home stretch. Something to keep in mind.
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