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Post by corndog on Jul 25, 2022 17:27:17 GMT -5
Triple H didn't book like flawless perfect wrestling week to week because nobody can, but god this is so relieving. Triple H's flaws are so minor compared to the accumulated insanity of Vince's shit, and the shows will benefit substantially just from the change of voice, from someone who isn't an indecisive maniac shredding scripts, from someone who doesn't need to micromanage and obsess over banal shit, and who has proven he can put on a show that consistently keeps the smarks engaged. Even this alone is going to help out massively. Vince's fixation on finding words people don't use and ramming them down the throats of fans is a prime example of that banal shit. It didn't get anything over, it made WWE into a joke. JUST. TALK. NORMALLY. Kevin Dunn is still in charge of camera controls so I would bring something to help combat motion sickness. Presumably not for long, HHH didn't promise Dunn a job and him and Stephanie are no friends of Dunn. I completely forgot about Vince's verbiage obsession(I haven't watched WWE in at least 5 years) and of course the awful, overly scripted promos. Guarantee, HHH isn't doing any of that, probably just bullet points and don't go too far. That alone, should improve the product and then getting Dunn out of there would be great.
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Post by corndog on Jul 25, 2022 16:02:31 GMT -5
Interesting that Vince retiring and news of HHH taking over creative made the stock price jump. Guess the company wasn't as dependent on Vince staying around as they wanted us to believe. I honestly put most of that on Nick Khan. Dude is all about the bottom line. Speaking of which, Meltzer and Zarian both said they spoke to businesses who made a couple comments. 1)Co-CEOs never work in business, and if it came down to choosing one, Nick Khan would ultimately win that battle 2)Even if he's retired, unless Vince sells his stock he is still the one in control of WWE. 3)Expect a lot of power grabs The 2nd part is what I am wondering about. Vince is "stepping down", but he is still the majority stock holder. How is that going to work? I can't imagine they could afford to buy him out, it would cost a fortune. I suppose he would be like the old "silent partner" and still show up for financial meetings. I feel like he will become the old man who just sits at the meetings and laughs at everyone fighting, sarcastically saying they have good ideas.
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Post by corndog on Jul 25, 2022 15:39:50 GMT -5
While I’m not sure he’d want the work at this point of his life…he should at least try to talk Heyman into running one of the brands especially if they want any hope of keeping Brock around. Triple H doesn’t need a freaking insane work schedule anymore and personally I think he should put guys with different booking philosophies in charge of Raw and SD that answer right him. Give them different flavors like when Bischoff/Steph we’re GM’s and SD was fire. I'm sure he will put people in place around him. I feel like it won't be immediate, and he will see what the staff in place can do before he makes a lot of changes. I am willing to bet he already has some people in mind he wants in certain places. I'm sure Dunn will be bought out by the end of the year, as he can't be fired since he is a stockholder.
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Post by corndog on Mar 28, 2022 16:45:45 GMT -5
I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is to lose someone close to you, as I lost my younger brother, who was really my best friend, in October 2020 and I lost my father 20 years ago. You never stop thinking about them and I always try to keep their memories alive, hoping I will see them again. The pain will never disappear, it will just become easier and you will slowly be able to eat and regain your normal life. I know what you mean by everything and nothing, the random emptiness and not even feeling real. When I had to drive to the hospital for my brother my mind felt out of body and I was just on autopilot. If things are hard for too long you should see a grief counselor, they do help and often you can find one for free.
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Post by corndog on Mar 28, 2022 16:38:36 GMT -5
"Heaven" actually had a lot of air play in the 80s since it was more radio friendly than "Cherry Pie". It was actually bigger hit for them than "Cherry Pie", but for whatever reason the band was defined by "Cherry Pie", even though it was one of their worst songs. Janie Lane HATED “Cherry Pie”. He was pretty proud of most of the material for their second album, particularly the planned title track, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. The label rep wanted one more “single” for the album and just wouldn’t let it go. To get him off his back, Janie spent literally 15 minutes shitting out a song that did all of the thing the label asked for, expecting them to hate it and leave him alone. Uncle Tom's Cabin was a very well written song, Janie was probably the best, at least one of the best lyricists for their style of music. I feel if was in another genre, he would have been more appreciated. I seriously hope he didn't take his own life because of "Cherry Pie", I know that it ate at him greatly.
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Post by corndog on Mar 26, 2022 10:57:38 GMT -5
It's too bad because "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is like... One of the very best hair metal songs ever written but barely anyone remembers it. Also, the only reason anyone remembers their song "Heaven" is because of those Rock Ballads compilations. "Heaven" actually had a lot of air play in the 80s since it was more radio friendly than "Cherry Pie". It was actually bigger hit for them than "Cherry Pie", but for whatever reason the band was defined by "Cherry Pie", even though it was one of their worst songs.
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Post by corndog on Mar 11, 2022 11:28:04 GMT -5
I've never understood why wrestling gets singled out like this. Lets send a reporter to the theatre "Listen you IDIOTS - Star Wars isn't real. There isn't any Force. Why do you care what happens in this film you MORONS?" I can get it a bit, after all "protecting the business" was such a big deal for the boys for a long time, you didn't get Harrison Ford on shows acting like he actually WAS Han Solo. The wrestlers acted like it was a big con, so clearly the fans were dopes being conned. Yeah, it made some sense since they were still trying to "protect" the business. But it's obvious here, most people knew it was a work and entertainment. It would be interesting to see this same thing done at Starrcade around this time and if the southern fans still believed.
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Post by corndog on Feb 10, 2022 8:26:54 GMT -5
If Morrissey gets a vote we will know that Morrissey posts here, though he is that miserable not even sure he'd vote for himself He's a rare breed of a narcissist with depression, so he would vote for himself while crying with a picture of Johnny Marr in his hand. Actually, I think a big part of his bitterness with Marr was Morrissey didn't want the Smiths to break up. But Johnny couldn't work with him anymore, it was even starting to damage his marriage and personal life. Marr wanted to do different music and you could tell with the "Queen is Dead" and "Strangeways, Here We Come" that Marr's music was evolving, but Morrisey's was not and it's basically what Marr said when he left the band without completely saying it. Marr recently said his favorite Smith's song is " Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me", which is musically a big production compared to their more simple early work, but it is also described as a song that really shows Morrissey and Marr going in separate directions. I think Morrissey just wanted to do "This Charming Man" forever and I guess he can try in his solo work, but without Marr's unique guitar and songwriting it just doesn't work for me.
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Post by corndog on Feb 9, 2022 16:08:25 GMT -5
I have been meaning to post about this, I am a big Smiths fan and I enjoy some of Morrissey's solo work, even though he's a knob. Recently Marr has been working on his solo work after years of playing with other bands. This month he has a new album coming out and he has been doing a slew of interviews to help to promote that album. Of course he is constantly asked about his ex-bandmate. In an interview last month, Marr said they weren't close because they are so different and he is still close with most of his ex-bandnmates. I can't copy pages on my computer or I would send the link, but the interview was on NME. Morrissey took offense and wrote a fairly scathing "open letter" telling to keep his name "out of his mouth" and says Marr doesn't know Morrissey anymore because they haven't spent much time together since the Smiths broke up. Marr struck back with a tweet about "open letters" not being a thing since Eisenhower was president in 1953 and an Instagram post of him laying in a hammock in the ocean. But he hasn't said his name in an interview since and only talks about the Smiths music, although he does still have a good relationship with Andy Rourke.
So whose side are you on, if you even care? Also, we can all agree we will never see the Smiths reunite.
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Post by corndog on Feb 8, 2022 13:31:45 GMT -5
Definitely Duran Duran, New York Dolls, Judas Priest, RATM and Pat Benatar.
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Post by corndog on Jan 17, 2022 12:40:26 GMT -5
I think the reasons are twofold. 1) They make a lot of money from their TV deals and Saudi Arabia. They dont need to really worry about maintaining their fanbase, because those contracts are long term, and don't depend on people ordering PPVs. When their tv deals come up, they may try to book differently, trying to bump up ratings. Its just content. 2) A lot of their fanbase is driven by their 50 years of history. If WWE were a new company, they would get ratings like NXT does. Raw has people who will watch no matter what. They know that, and its just about putting something out week to week. I will say for me, personally, the dismantling of NXT, the firings of everyone who worked there, its awful. I cant imagine ever investing in something like those mid-10's Takeovers. A shame. The tv deals and Saudi blood money are all they need. I quit watching completely in 2016 and haven't looked back. Got into New Japan and the indies, now with AEW there really is no reason to watch at all. Anyone disconnected with the product just needs to look elsewhere, there really isn't an excuse with all of the alternatives, especially now that North America has multiple alternatives for any type of fan. The WWE/Vince doesn't give a crap about us and hasn't catered to us for a long time. For a while, they at least had something to offer, whether it was a few of Jericho's character changes, the rise of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk's pipebomb, some fun midcarders like Heath Slater and Zack Ryder, some damn good wrestling in NXT, but that is all in the past. Also just look where all of those things ended, the fans loved them and eventually Vince cut their legs off. He doesn't want the fans to have any power in the product, he needs to be in control. All because fan favorites like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and the Ultimate Warrior burned him. He wouldn't even fully commit to Bret Hart and always preferred Shawn Michaels, despite being a drug addict, all because Bret wasn't his first choice.
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Post by corndog on Jan 10, 2022 15:24:35 GMT -5
Just finished the fourth season. My thoughts so far: {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}The LaRussos are the embodiment of a family who means well but don't think things out throughly.
The basketball scene with Kenny, Lei, and Anthony reminded me of the beach scene with Johnny, Daniel, and Ali. I think where going to see more of this story in season 5.
I understand why Devon was added but she did not come across as a bad ass. Everytime she tried to act tough she came across as adorable.
You can't help but pull for Tori even though she is a villian. She gets two different jobs and both times the LaRussos sabotage her. She wins the tournament and it looks like things are turning around for her when she finds out the ref had been paid off. Hopefully things turn out for the better for Tori.
What Silver did to Stingray and Kreese was evil. Stingray was an idiot but he didn't deserve that. {Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}Tori and Robbie are actually very likeable this season. Robbie is trying to do the right thing, even though he is on the wrong side. Even Kreese shows some humility and that isn't completely bad person, Vietnam just messed him up and he can't escape it.
I love Tori and Amanda LaRusso's story arc this season. Amanda realizes that Tori has reasons for her anger and wants to help her, while also realizing Samantha isn't completely innocent.
There is a lot of grey in this season, where we see Amanda and Daniel have a little Cobra Kai in them. Really the only pure good characters are Miguel and Demetri. The only pure evil is Silver, who is a complete psychopath.
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Post by corndog on Jan 3, 2022 14:38:30 GMT -5
Finally finished the season, some random thoughts - {Spoiler}{Spoiler}Cheyenne never re-appears, or even gets a mention. I'm genuinely disappointed over that.
The Carrie Underwood appearance makes me now want Hilary Swank to show up playing herself instead of Julie Pierce. Actually no, I still want Julie Pierce to appear.
Johnny's training montage to "Heart's on Fire" was amazing and deserves to win an Emmy. An Emmy for what I'm not sure, but just to play it safe I say give him all the Emmy's.
I'm not particularly thrilled with the ending where Daniel feels he shouldn't have to honor his agreement with Cobra Kai. I think it would've worked better if he made the statement after something like a scene of Tory admitting she found out that Silver paid off the ref.
As for Tory, my theory is still that her father is Dutch.
I'm not sure about Silver bringing in Mike Barnes to help him run Cobra Kai. Barnes was always a hired gun, he had no loyalty or even concern about Silver or Cobra Kai. To Silver Cobra Kai doesn't seem like a personal thing like it did with Johnny and Kreese, but a genuine money-making opportunity. Why jeopardize your checkbook by bringing in someone who in the past has been a loose cannon and doesn't seem to have much to offer?
The problem with Miyagi-Do Karate is that it's designed for combat, not for competition. It (or at least the version Daniel uses) doesn't really work when your goal is to score three points in a tournament. It's like trying to win a football game with only defense. Best defense in the world but, with no offense, the best you can hope for is a 0-0 tie. {Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}To reply to your last point about Miyagi Do being purely defensive, that is why he brought in Chozen, because he knows the offensive side that Mr. Miyagi didn't teach Daniel.
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Post by corndog on Jan 2, 2022 12:30:23 GMT -5
I don't think it was quite as good as season 3, but man there is A LOT to discuss and dissect going into season 5. So many different stories. {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}1)It seems like everyone is going face (including Kreese) except for Terry Silver
2) Daniel enlists the help of CHOZEN. Will he help or will he prove to do more harm than good
3) Based on what we know and common sense prevailing, Stingray will eventually remember that it wasn't Kreese that kicked his ass but the guy with the ponytail. No way Kreese ends up going to jail. Can't see Kreese going back to Cobra Kai with Silver.
4)I think next season, Robbie and Miguel will fight to be Johnny's favorite son. Will Eagle Fang even exist? Will Johnny help Daniel and Chozen or stay away in his own thing.
5) Still no concrete clues to Tori's family. But I think we can rule out any Barnes relations. Think there would have been a hint.
6) I expect Barnes back for season 5. He is one of Silver's "Cobra Kai" friends he was referring to when it came to replacing Kreese.
7) Will Robbie and Tori leave Cobra Kai. Tori knows about the crooked referee, and showed remorse towards Sam. Robbie clearly wants out and recognizes the harm of Cobra Kai.
8) Kenny was a great addition. {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}Stingray knows it wasn't Kreese who attacked him, it showed a brief flashback, so he's knowingly involved in the doublecross An interesting season, I can't see it going for another 2 seasons though, they would be really pushing it. As far as thoughts after watching it all {Spoiler}{SPOILER: CLICK TO SHOW}1. Kreese showing he is not completely evil was interesting, basically him and Silver did a double turn. I thought everything he did was manipulation, but its clear he actually cared about Johnny, Tori and even Robbie.
2. Hawk winning was an interesting surprise.
3. Silver is a nutjob and we are definitely going to see Barnes next season.
4. I think Robbie will be the first to leave Cobra Kai, I wonder if he even goes back. I think Tory sticks around for a little bit, especially with Silver having money to support her, she will be torn.
5. I think Kreese gets out because Stingray will eventually tell the truth once he realizes how evil and crazy Silver really is.
6. We know what Daniel will be up, training with Chozen. But we don't really know where Johnny will be in all this, but I see him being torn between Robbie and Miguel.
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Post by corndog on Dec 27, 2021 18:11:15 GMT -5
Meltzer never said or wrote that. He was asked if Moxley would have qualified for the program and he noted that he likely would given WWE has paid for guys to go to rehab while under contract to Impact. Yeah, he was basically saying WWE would pay if he had reached out but didn’t say they actually were paying. I assume TK is paying, but it wouldn’t shock me if Mox is paying out of pocket due to his own stubbornness. Moxley definitely strikes me as the type who would pay it himself out of stubborness. I definitely cannot see him asking WWE, maybe Khan would force him to take something. I kind of wonder what lead him to rehab, was it an incident or just seeing it from a different perspective.
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Post by corndog on Oct 13, 2021 18:39:07 GMT -5
It's a simple list of priorities: 1. Keep existing regular viewers. One way is not actively driving them away by listening to the author of this article. 2. Provide lapsed fans, occasional viewers, those loyal to other promotions and the curious a reason to tune in. Maybe Bryan in a big match in Dynamite. 3. While group 2 are around give them a positive experience with what they wanted to see and other things on the show they can latch onto long-term so they become regular viewers. Infinitely repeat those steps. Do it well you get positive momentumn and those fans will recruit new ones. They've mostly got the balance right. Patient long-term booking but with enough exciting things happening to attract new fans and ensure people don't get bored waiting. The dumb thing is most of the things he asks for are already there to some degree. They can be patient to a fault. Everything else is window dressing but the violence and skimpy outfits are there, just presented in way that doesn't alienate too many people rather than just appealing to 13 year old boys. For the most part, they are doing a lot of things right. It will be a struggle for AEW to get many more viewers because of all of the cord cutting, especially since COVID. I wonder how many of those watching Raw in 2014 even have cable? As long as TNT is happy with the numbers, which are pretty good and their live attendence has been strong, they will be fine.
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Post by corndog on Oct 13, 2021 17:55:39 GMT -5
Can’t people be put off by both Khan’s words and by the Attitude Era actions you described? Maybe that is my entire argument. The fact that it seemingly has to be one or the other. I typically only post when it is something that has drawn my ire for good or bad. WWE is nearly unwatchable but there are parts I am really enjoying...AEW on the other hand has the best roster in the world but little things irk me and when they start to wonder around the pitfalls of TNA, ECW, and WCW that is when my alarms go off. Ultimately I think it is possible to look at both objectively and to enjoy both. Perhaps that is the issue, everyone is worried because Khan said something that reminded them of Dixie or Bischoff's overconfidence in competing with Vince. But actions speak louder than words and so far, Khan hasn't done anything foolish like those two to jeopardize his company. I actually think he is doing the reverse, which will eventually force WWE to bring the competition to them where they have the "higher ground". Really they just seem to be building a brand and making a name for themselves. Now if they move Dynamite to Monday Nights, I would get it.
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Post by corndog on Sept 7, 2021 17:43:09 GMT -5
I remember the "us against them" with Cena vs Punk and Bryan and originally RVD. But what is interesting to me is those matches and fueds made me respect Cena. He showed in those matches he was more than the "5 moves of doom" he was accused of and he used that hatred to really work those fans in the promos and matches. Infact, it felt like Cena go a lot of respect from everyone after both of those matches, especially the Punk match in Chicago.
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Post by corndog on Sept 7, 2021 16:57:52 GMT -5
Hell, the most famous example was Verne Gagne not capitalizing off of the new fame of Hulk Hogan post Rocky III and giving him the AWA title so Vince got him and the rest is history. What's amazing about this, and Junkyard Dog, Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Paul Orndorff, the US Express is that none of these people so concerned about AEW signing so many ex WWE wrestlers ever bring up McMahon in 1983 to 1985 raiding territories top stars and claiming he just used them better. Why isnt what AEW is doing now more McMahon's 1983 expansion? Its always WCW and TNA. I also find it funny that everytime AEW has an amazing signing, the same "concern" pops up and people have to repeat themselves. Over and over how its different. I agree, except unlike Vince's expansion, AEW isn't trying to put anyone else out of business. They are working with other companies in the US and around the world. That's why I am happy it's them. Vince McMahon has tried to put every other wrestling company in North America out of business for his entire tenure as owner. Even after WCW, he strip mined ROH and even used NXT to run shows against them. NXT was basically designed to compete with ROH and they weren't even that big of company, they just produced a lot of talent. He never messed with TNA, but he knew he didn't have to, they were a joke. You would think if they could, WWE would try something to stop AEW, but they can't. They would have done something to try and hurt them, but the pandemic really cut into their profits. At the very least, Stephanie and HHH have to see the writing on the wall, Vince will probably go down kicking and screaming. Currently WWE's sole purpose is to just keep on making as much money as possible, while they still can. The only thing that can save them now, is if Vince passes or losses his capacities enough for Stephanie/HHH to take over. But who knows? Maybe HHH signs with AEW So in a way this is very ironic, and thank goodness it happened. I really thought American wrestling was going to die with WWE, but now there is hope for it to continue and grow for many years to come.
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Post by corndog on Sept 6, 2021 16:06:57 GMT -5
Stacking the G1 with Bullet Club has got to be some sick joke on Gedo's part. I'm still not over Tama's shitshow in the 2018 G1. They obviously want this House of Torture and potential Bullet Club civil war storyline as a big part of the G1, but it's going to come at the expense of the tournament's quality. Yujiro and Chase have no business being in the G1, but they're obvious filler. Tanga's also probably not going to do any good, but he at least is fairly credible. I think part of it is the House of Torture angle, but it's also just a "who is available?" issue. Jay White and Suzuki are in the US, Ospreay's got COVID, guys like Moxley or Archer are in the US obviously, too, I think Kojima's in the US, I forget. Nagato swore off competing in another G1, and I am really not sure if Makabe, Honma, or Tenzan really want to put themselves through a G1 at this stage of their lives. I don't mind Chase, he actually puts in an effort and has had some good matches. Nobody wants to this much Tanga, and Tama was awful in his last tournament. This year looks so weak, I might not even watch it and I usually get really excited about the G1, even last year.
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