nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 26, 2024 15:01:24 GMT -5
If Tony Khan wanted carte blanche to dump on WWE for all that's come out in the last 24 hours, Triple H's tweet just became that carte blanche.
If I ran TKO, Trips would not be in any PR-related role from here on out. No member of the McMahon family or of their regime should be right now.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 26, 2024 10:48:38 GMT -5
I wasn't attempting to turn it into a company v company war. I enjoy both for the most part and despise the tribalism that exists between both sets of fans. All I was saying was if I was a part of that roster/company, I'd be seriously thinking of handing my notice in. The culture of abuse has clearly been present at management level for years and could potentially still be lingering. I wouldn't want to spend one minute more there personally given some still there in positions of power most likely had knowledge of a lot of this. I was going to ask myself, "Why can't we?" The fact of the matter is that we don't know how far out on the web of WWE this poison sits. We don't know how many of the guys in the locker room received photo or video from Vince of his victims or to what end Vince might have been sending them out. Given Vince's demonstrated willingness to watch and his documented fetishization of men's parts, we don't know if it was just women he was forcing into these situations or if he was using the women under his control (because, let's face it, what choice did they have?) as contract considerations or, indeed, to create blackmail for some of the lads in the locker room. As much as we may dump on Tony Khan here, I don't think there's any question of who I'd trust in an office setting. As for any of the talents who might have either benefitted from this system or who might have suffered under it, I'd already suggested that TKO/WWE might want to show some measure of atonement by opening the door for those with qualms about continuing to work with such a company as WWE to walk out without penalty.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 25, 2024 23:34:05 GMT -5
If Brock was "given" this woman as part of consideration for re-signing, and the new contract was under TKO, hoo boy.
If Vince and/or Laurinaitis were in the room while he "performed", it does beg yet another question. How many of the boys were either "offered" or "compelled" to "perform" in front of Vince, possibly whilst being video-recorded? What was his reasoning for naming certain toys after certain superstars?
Before he dies, even if he never sees the inside of a jail cell he wasn't thrown in for kayfabe, I'd like the world to know the full extent of his misdeeds and for him to face that public knowledge. I want his every outing to make Cersei's Walk of Shame seem like a pleasant summer stroll in comparison. I want him to feel shame like he's probably never felt in the last sixty years.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 25, 2024 20:53:45 GMT -5
What are the odds they book him as #14 and never gets to the ring before he's set on by the AOP before being dragged off to the abyss?
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 25, 2024 20:11:32 GMT -5
Maybe it's inappropriate to bring this up (better suited to a separate thread?), but this does beg the question, if this winds up coming back down on all these people and they're all forced to leave, then who runs the company? You're basically wiping out the entire upper management chain of command. I'm literally imagining Vince Russo showing up at the Endeavor offices being all like "so I hear you have some openings?". It's a good question, but I'm pretty sure that a) someone among the senior management is going to come absolutely, squeaky clean about what they know, if for no other reason than self-preservation; b) there are enough behind-the-scenes people in promotions all over the world who would _love_ the opportunity to work creatively for WWE and, indeed, have a hand in its redemption; c) Endeavor can probably find among its executives and staff the necessary skills to provide day-to-day operations (logistics, TV production, human resources) without tapping into the 'rasslin' business well; and d) everyone and their dog knows that Russo (and Bischoff for that matter) would not be useful in any capacity to restore the company's reputation. Cornette with a filter, maybe. Definitely not Russo.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 25, 2024 18:52:58 GMT -5
Little about Vince surprises me anymore. Just the summary, though, feels as though I had _Serbian Film_ playing in the room with me muted and the brightness turned down to zero. I know enough to know that I don't wanna see it for myself. My heart goes out to Vince's victims; I hope that they're able to find healing and closure and justice.
As for WWE, in my view:
a) Vince is in Benoit territory at this point, or sure as f*** needs to be. Wipe his face, voice and everything that has been within a mile of him from all WWE programming at this point, and never again let it see the light of day. No more TV appearances for him, ever - not even in a Capt. Pike scenario from ST: TOS.
b) John Laurinaitis needs to be fired immediately, if he hasn't already.
c) Brock Lesnar's contract needs to be terminated with immediate effect. There's no getting away from this. He can go back to his farm and tip cows for the rest of his miserable, entitled life.
d) Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan, Bruce Prichard and Paul Heyman need to be intensely questioned about their knowledge of what was going on ad how it was handled. McDevitt's never getting a retirement and probably deserves that fate. If their answers don't stand up to scrutiny and there's evidence that they're lying, they should be removed from the company. I'd go so far as to suggest that the Performance Center crew needs a close side-eye as well. Michaels and Regal likely know something of all this and should probably come clean for their own consciences.
e) Anyone currently under contract with WWE must be given an immediate opportunity to leave the company of their own will with no penalty. The reputational damage the company has suffered with Vince's involvement is enormous, even for those who have not been involved with the sharing of texts/messages. To stick with the company at this point, with this information out, might well be seen as complicity. Giving the option to walk regardless of contract status will be a gesture of atonement for the company and a chance for talent to move elsewhere without the stain of Vince on them.
f) Anyone on a Legends contract should have any non-disparagement clauses in their contracts annulled. Depending on how far back the rot lies, this will either set them free or send them running. In any case, they should be looked at as well.
I would suggest that Endeavor is going to have a very close interest in WWE's operations from here on out. There's little choice when the rot in WWE may be that deep. Their network partners, present and future, as well as their sponsors may well demand oversight.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 12, 2024 14:17:13 GMT -5
I was just about ready to post something similar to this. It's Jan 10th in the year 2024 and after wasting 20 minutes on reddit I've seen more people defend Chris Benoit than Kevin Dunn. Until we see a montage of Kevin Dunn taking chair shots to the head, I don't think Dunn can excuse the shitty multi-cuts on a brain injury or similar issue. Then again, we don't know what happened in the production truck over the years.... I'm sorry. I'll see myself out.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 12, 2024 14:05:12 GMT -5
I think this points to the primary problem of Roman Reigns as champion.
He needs to be available and to be advertised if the company's intent is to use him as their poster boy and to draw money. There is underpromising and over-delivering, yes. However, it points to Roman's growing irrelevance to the overall product and begs the question of why he has the title(s) if he's not around to defend them and they're not selling him as being around. What's he even there for?
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 11, 2024 19:57:11 GMT -5
I'd say the OG3 should go in; Braun, too, if you're going to put him in at all. Orton and Bryan/Danielson should get their own inductions individually when the time comes.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 5, 2024 19:04:02 GMT -5
Barring a shock win against Roman or a boatload of money to compensate, I think Drew is done in WWE - and they may not be able to get him back a third time.
Most likely, he goes to AEW and either joins the Blackpool Combat Club (which wouldn't be a bad fit for him), or sticks about as a lone wolf with eyes on the prize regardless of who's holding it.
Whatever CM Punk may have to say about AEW, he lost the moral high ground on that over a year ago and has since lost credibility on his past beef with WWE. He's not going to be a factor in whatever conflict is going on between WWE and AEW.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Jan 4, 2024 20:16:40 GMT -5
Dare we hope that what will follow will feel far more unabashedly like a pro wrestling program now that the last of the craft's haters is out of the business.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Dec 17, 2023 21:32:42 GMT -5
It's a crushing blow for anyone to miss that amount of time due to injury.
Some have suggested this would be an opportunity start a family. I disagree; if her history of injuries listed here is accurate, pregnancy and childbirth may pose some significant risks for her (more than it normally might for any woman.) She has never seemed inclined towards having children anyway.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Dec 17, 2023 20:50:08 GMT -5
I seem to remember back on the old r.s.p-w newsgroup a discussion about how the steroids were creeping back into pro wrestling after the steroid scandal and that, in the later 90s they were being used at that time simply to speed up healing from injuries. Of course, as we learned to our horror, there was a lot of stuff about to keep these guys on the road for longer stretches and bring them back sooner and keep them looking good through it all. We lost a lot of talent in the late 90s and into the 00s because of the Wild West mentality in the business.
There have been a lot of changes since then, but I'm not sure that steroid use has declined all that much. The real culprits for the carnage we saw were the painkillers, stimulants and depressants (and antidepressants) that helped these people cope with the rigours of life on the road and the toxic work environment that prevailed at that time.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Dec 15, 2023 18:17:22 GMT -5
He's closer to the Moxley mindset than the Reigns mindset, I think - there may reach a point at which the intangibles will become more of a barrier to renewing the contract than the money. Both Seth and Becky are virtually set for life and can walk away from the business if they chose, but Seth is still looking for the broader experience and may not be as tethered to WWE as one may think.
There are others with that mindset on the roster as well, and I would not be surprised to see them weighing their options in due course.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Dec 2, 2023 13:28:47 GMT -5
They actually went with Hendrix apparently. Is she a Voodoo Child? Apparently, being born on the same day as Jimi's birthday can bring about such a result. So, yes, it seems.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Dec 2, 2023 13:20:12 GMT -5
Ric Flair was a far bigger deal in the 1980s than Cena was even during his peak. That said, the 80s were a somewhat less connected time then - you might have had a local promotion and, if you had cable, you might know who was champion in one of the Big Three - but that was it. The numbers of tapetraders were miniscule as a percentage of the overall audience. Flair was big among the territories and in some farflung areas that caught NWA on TV, but that was it. Memes kept Flair relevant far longer than he really had any right to be.
Cena's legacy is really still up in the air at this point. Without the veil of kayfabe, it's hard to measure Cena's legacy by his achievements - 16 times world champion isn't the flex it used to be when those achievements are largely the decisions of the company and not necessarily reflective of one's abilities in the ring. We believed in this stuff when Flair was on top and seeming invincible; the suspension of disbelief in Cena, though, unless you were a child, was a little more difficult to achieve.
But Cena as a human being was/is a far more positive force in the world, and that can make a huge difference to one's legacy - as can a segue into acting. Flair will be a prominent figure in the histories written by the wrestling historians years and years from now. Cena's story still has a chapter or two to be written - and it may end up too big to be written by them.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Nov 30, 2023 11:21:05 GMT -5
I feel the more efficient way to have improved any and all of these and more would be by erasing Moolah's influence on the industry from history.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Nov 27, 2023 19:35:20 GMT -5
They give him Warlord, but now Warlord has had 4 different managers in the WWF and has been in a year long feud with The British Bulldog when Harvey takes over for Slick and has been pushed far down the card Vince should’ve never split up The Powers Of Pain to begin with. Fuji, Slick, Harvey....and who else? Wasn't Heenan the Warlord's manager during the run-up to the WM 7 match vs Davey Boy? It was that long, ridiculous build where they had someone impersonating the Old Doll (RIP) running down the Bulldog, only for there to be an expose video of the same woman at a table just acting, well, naff?
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Nov 27, 2023 19:24:18 GMT -5
Of course, WWE could always throw a fat bag at her and that changes her mind. The ball is in her court Money was always going to be a consideration here - AEW has been offering competitive salaries plus more creative and booking freedom. WWE is prepared to pay a premium to put a talent anywhere they want in their diorama. Mercedes seems more keen to work Japan at the moment, but would no doubt be happy being the big fish in AEW's relatively small pond. Will she come back to WWE? Someday, perhaps - but she's not going to bound right back to WWE until she's had her fill of the world outside...whenever that may be.
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
Posts: 5,725
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Post by nisidhe on Nov 27, 2023 18:40:55 GMT -5
She'll be well past tappable age when she gets out, will be on probation until she's 75 and will spend the rest of her life knowing her legacy is almost at the level of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She's pretty much persona non grata in the wrestling business; there's no coming back from this. I'd say it's fair enough. I can only hope the Usos and Jeff Hardy are taking notes.
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