WWE Network
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<p>Vince McMahon has always claimed he's done what he's done "because of The Business," and he's played up his heel persona as a character, but I believe he genuinely admires these wrestlers as a lifelong fan and is sincere about making peace and burying the hatchet, even if it's motivated by business. It's great to see Bret Hart back in the fold, it was awesome to see Jake the Snake last week, and now this Helwig announcement. It's a shame Macho died before he could have reconciled, but then he was a pretty stubborn guy too. Just a great surprise I didn't see coming (although in the past hour I've since discovered there are several sites predicting/announcing this months ago, secret must have leaked, but I missed all that.)</p>
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<p>Tonight's Raw was heavily pimping the new WWE Network launch. They really want this to be a game-changer, and I'm sold. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>VKM couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to the show as well. A cage match between the Usos vs. Daniel Wyatt (Bryan) & Bray Wyatt. The crowd at the end popped like a cork from a champagne bottle. </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stockcar86" data-cid="410264" data-time="1389347925">
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<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">She was born March 1923, so is 90</span></p>
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<p>Good lord. Mind you, she'd seems like she's been 85 for the past twenty years, but still, good lord. She certainly seems game for anything.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="red terror" data-cid="410482" data-time="1389672762">
<div>
<p>Tonight's Raw was heavily pimping the new WWE Network launch. They really want this to be a game-changer, and I'm sold. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>VKM couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to the show as well. A cage match between the Usos vs. Daniel Wyatt (Bryan) & Bray Wyatt. The crowd at the end popped like a cork from a champagne bottle. </p>
</div>
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<p> </p>
<p>I thought it was in pretty poor taste talking about Cena's fathers (probably) fake heart condition in front of Jerry Lawler though. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Watched 1989 Royal Rumble last night - I forgot how much Sean Michaels has changed from his Rocker tag team days</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stockcar86" data-cid="410596" data-time="1389770999">
<div>
<p>I thought it was in pretty poor taste talking about Cena's fathers (probably) fake heart condition in front of Jerry Lawler though. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Watched 1989 Royal Rumble last night - I forgot how much Sean Michaels has changed from his Rocker tag team days</p>
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<p> </p>
<p>You want to watch his match at WM V (Twin Towers vs Rockers), bumps like a pinball and takes the best clothesline bump ever!</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stockcar86" data-cid="410596" data-time="1389770999">
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<p>I thought it was in pretty poor taste talking about Cena's fathers (probably) fake heart condition in front of Jerry Lawler though. </p>
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</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>It's the WWE - Vince could care less about taste. He's trying to bump the buy-rate. Nine months ago Paul Bearer died (for real) and the following Monday VKM had "him" in the urn selling an Undertaker v. CM Punk pay-per-view. Lawler knows the business -- And Cole was stressing that it <em>wasn't</em> a heart condition -- it was a "fractured eye socket." Vince has to sell his Super-Cena v. Viper Legend Killer Face of the WWE ppv. But like yourself, Cole mentioning it did raise a few eyebrows, including mine.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="red terror" data-cid="410236" data-time="1389323621">
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<p>It does make you wonder how much "Rabid Wolverine" content will be made available. (My guess: Zero.)</p>
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<p> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Godder" data-cid="410246" data-time="1389334386">
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<p>My understanding is that they won't cut him out of anything because it's viewer choice, but they won't focus on him either, and will play <strong>viewer advisories where appropriate</strong>. It will be interesting to see if they provide Over The Edge 1999 or whichever one Owen Hart died at.</p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Saw this <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/Ask_the_Editor_18/article_75864.shtml#.UuKzpNIo4sY'>today</a>:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>PWTorch reader Brian A. of Long Island, N.Y. asks:</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"> With the WWE putting all their old PPVs on the Network, I was wondering if they will include Chris Benoit matches?</span><br><br><b>PWTorch columnist Sean Radican answers:</b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"> All Chris Benoit matches will be included on the WWE Network with an advisory warning aired prior to the content that he's on starting.</span></p> -
<p>Huge crowd backlash at the Royal Rumble last night. Vince is really going to have to work hard to adjust for 'Mania. The crowd has turned on Batista (he may have to immediately turn heel), and they're bored with Cena and Orton. The "WWE Universe" believes Daniel Bryan has been royallyfucked and they're not staying quiet about it. It's a beautiful thing to see -- like the Coliseum with the Romans letting Caesar know which way the thumb goes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's bewildering why Vince wants to infuriate his customers. Has old age and dementia taken over?? One wonders if this was his Machiavellian strategy all along and he's playing the fan-base and setting-up a big payoff for Bryan, or whether it's beyond his control and he's playing stubborn billionaire who no longer listens to them because he thinks he knows better.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mick Foley took to twitter last night screaming foul, calling it the worst PPV booking he'd ever seen, then elaborated on Facebook this morning saying he wanted to throw a brick through his TV -- and this is a guy on a WWE Ambassador contract!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Raw should be interesting tonight . . .</p> -
<p>Some of Foley's rant --</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="font-size:15px;font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;color:rgb(63,69,73);"> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
<p style="font-size:15px;font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;color:rgb(63,69,73);">As I mentioned on Twitter, I've never felt so disgusted at the conclusion of a WWE (or any) PPV. Like many of you out there, I just don't get it. <strong>This Daniel Bryan thing is a phenomenon.</strong> You get it. I get it. The fans in Pittsburgh (yes, I was thinking of writing "RIGHT TH...but I'm just not in a cheap pop mood) got it. But tonight, for the first time, I had to admit to myself that the powers that be are just not going to get it. And that makes me sad. <strong>I'm just honestly sad, just flat out fucking sad</strong> (yes, I dropped an F-bomb there to emphasize how F'ing sad I am for the guys who bust their butts night in and night out - Ziggler, Punk, Bryan, etc - with no hope of getting their shot at this year's Mania.</p>
<p style="font-size:15px;font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;color:rgb(63,69,73);"> </p>
<p style="font-size:15px;font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;color:rgb(63,69,73);">You know who else I'm sad for? Me. In my two years as an official WWE Ambassador, I never once had to lie about my enthusiasm for the company or the product. Now, although I am no longer officially an Ambassador for WWE (believe it or not, my only official role in WWE is as GM for Saturday Morning Slam, a contract that ends in one month) I was till looking forward to being part of the biggest event of the year. I'll probably end up going anyway. But I'm about 1/6th as excited about it as I was just a few hours ago. I wanted so badly to hear 75,000 WWE fans chanting "YES" - and seeing fans walk away absolutely ecstatic about the outcome of a PPV for the first time in a while...a long while. But when given the chance to make it happen (unless they've got something MAJOR up their sleeve) WWE's answer tonight was a resounding "NO, NO, NO".</p>
<p> </p>
</blockquote> -
<p>Dude Love not the only fan incensed... for a second I thought it was Star Wars Kid...</p>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://deadspin.com/dude-is-so-pissed-batista-won-the-royal-rumble-1510306413'>Deadspin reports</a>:</p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">Batista returned a week ago, after nearly four years away, announced he was going to win the Royal Rumble and then won the Royal Rumble. It seemed...creatively weak. So he was booed. He apparently did not take kindly to this, either.</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">Good times, but let's get back to the main event: this shrieking dude. He throws a straight-up temper tantrum, screams at the girl (his...girlfriend?) filming and heads to his near-hoarder-level room full of wrestling merchandise and starts destroying his own property as a sign of his displeasure with the WWE.</blockquote> -
<p>My first impression was that it seemed awfully familiar and was probably a work... and then at 1:03 he looks like Star Wars Kid, so it has to be real, right? </p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://deadspin.com/grand-jury-to-investigate-1983-death-of-jimmy-snukas-g-1511023624'>Uh-oh</a>:</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"> <strong><span style="font-size:24px;"><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://deadspin.com/grand-jury-to-investigate-1983-death-of-jimmy-snukas-g-1511023624'>Grand Jury To Investigate 1983 Death Of Jimmy Snuka's Girlfriend</a></span></strong>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:15px;background-color:rgb(245,245,245);">(The) case remains open 31 years later, with Snuka the only named "person of interest."</span></p>
<p> </p>
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<p>C M Punk quits WWE</p>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
<p> </p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;">As of this writing, all the media </span><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-cm-punk-wwe-20140130,0,4280588.story?track=rss#axzz2ruVbGskF'>knows for certain</a><span style="color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"> about CM Punk’s departure from WWE prior to the Jan. 27 Raw is that he met with </span><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://bleacherreport.com/vince-mcmahon'>Vince McMahon</a><span style="color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"> and left thereafter.</span></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">Neither the Straight Edge Superstar nor the promotion have issued a formal comment, leaving fans and editors to speculate as to why.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">Without formal comment, reports of Punk “leaving†WWE are also speculative. Punk’s contract is set to expire in July, but there is no confirmation from either party that this departure concludes the business of that contract or if both sides will try to come to terms.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">It would not be the first time negations between WWE and Punk went down to the 11th hour. Punk’s initial contract with the promotion was set to expire on the night of the 2011 Money in the Bank pay-per-view, where Punk was headlining against John Cena for the WWE Championship. As he related in the documentary portion of the WWE Home Video release <em>CM Punk: Best in the World</em>, the delay was due to Punk being genuinely conflicted about re-signing, and he did not put his name on a new contract until sometime during the actual broadcast.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">The prevailing notion regarding the Jan. 27 departure, based on Punk’s despondence about the WWE product during a <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10035553.shtml'>comic book convention panel</a> prior to the Royal Rumble, is that he was frustrated with the creative direction, specifically in WWE’s baffling decision to keep fan-favorite Daniel Bryan from headlining WrestleMania.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"> </p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"><strong>“So you hate me</strong></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"><strong>That's the way it goes</strong></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"><strong>What the f***?</strong></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"><strong>I guess I'll never knowâ€</strong></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"><strong> - Minor Threat, “No Reasonâ€</strong></p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;"> </p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">No Superstar since Punk has whipped WWE audiences into a frenzy as much as Daniel Bryan, in spite of byzantine, incoherent and frustrating storytelling on the part of WWE Creative that has <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1850430-wwe-news-creative-builds-the-authority-at-expense-of-daniel-bryan-randy-orton'>done all it can to derail Bryan’s momentum</a>. By all accounts, Bryan is a gifted ring general and a reliable backstage presence, making WWE’s failure to capitalize on his fandom<span style="margin:0px;background-color:transparent;">—</span>from a company that had no issue capitalizing on the fandom of <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://bleacherreport.com/hulk-hogan'>Hulk Hogan</a>, Steve Austin and John Cena<span style="margin:0px;background-color:transparent;">—</span>one of the greatest train wrecks in wrestling history.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">Instead, just as they have for the two previous WrestleManias, WWE is hedging their bets on a former champion and current Hollywood star. After an abrupt retirement and four-year absence, Batista, soon to appear in the Marvel Comics adaptation <em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em>, returned to the WWE, declared his intentions of winning the undisputed championship and was subsequently entered in and won the Royal Rumble. This distinction, for the past decade, entitles him to be in the main event at WrestleMania.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">Batista coming back is a huge deal, and WWE wanting to capitalize on the eventual movie buzz is understandable. But why Batista had to come back and be part of the title picture—again, from a storyline perspective, usurping Daniel Bryan’s momentum—only demonstrates how little faith WWE producers have in their current product.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">In turn, the WWE Universe is vocalizing how little faith they have in WWE producers, as demonstrated by drowning out the end of the Royal Rumble with jeers when Bryan failed to be revealed as an entrant. Batista’s victory celebration was greeted with the same overwhelmingly negative reaction, causing the newly crowned Rumble winner to verbally lash out at fans in attendance.</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">The overshadowing of Bryan has not gone unnoticed by professionals such as Punk and WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley who, in his “disgusted†reaction to the Rumble telecast, wondered aloud on Twitter, “Does WWE actually hate their own audience?â€</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(55,55,55);font-family:'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif;">The feel-good moment of Daniel Bryan winning the Rumble and then the unified championships at WrestleMania would have been a fan-friendly conclusion to the end of the wrestling year and could have set up an intriguing matchup with the newly minted champion facing his biggest threat in the former champion Batista. Instead of stoking fans with the positive anticipation of WrestleMania, fans felt Bryan had been screwed again and let WWE know. WWE can only take the rug out from under fans so many times before fans make their feelings known not by arena jeers, but by changing the channels and spending their entertainment budget elsewhere.</p>
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<p> </p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1942568-wwe-news-cm-punk-leaves-wwe-just-like-stone-cold-steve-austin-did-before'>http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1942568-wwe-news-cm-punk-leaves-wwe-just-like-stone-cold-steve-austin-did-before</a></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="red terror" data-cid="411987" data-time="1390849967">
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<p>Some of Foley's rant --</p>
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<p>I'm agree with Mick, and am glad I didn't give Vince any money to watch it. 3 things were a slap in the face to the fans...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>[spoiler]1) Punk making it to the final four and being eliminated that cheap way by Kane<br>
2) Batista the walking wellness violation starting so late, and beating the obviously more talented and popular Roman Reigns<br>
3) Rey Mysterio coming out at 30 instead of Daniel Bryan<br>
How cool would it have been if Ray came out, starting wrestling, then pulled off his mask to reveal it was Bryan![/spoiler]</p>
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<p><img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfLMaXyCMAA8yyv.jpg" alt="BfLMaXyCMAA8yyv.jpg"></p>
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<p>The product and direction is a mess right now. The crowds are out of control. Batista has been a backfire. (And poor Albert del Rio - given a thankless task and the weight of the world on his shoulders to quickly sell Batista as a babyface in a couple months for a Wrestlemania main event.) Triple H is now a Daniel Bryan guy...?!? If so, then he really is trying to bury Bryan. I'm guessing Roman Reigns will be their next big thing, but that will probably have to wait until after 'Mania. I thought CM Punk walking might be a work, but the only mention of his name on Raw was the crowd chanting, so I'm guessing their failing to mention him (or Lesnar, also conspicuously absent on Monday) means his AWOL is real.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stockcar86" data-cid="412706" data-time="1391155477">
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<p>How cool would it have been if Ray came out, starting wrestling, then pulled off his mask to reveal it was Bryan!</p>
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<p> </p>
<p>That would have been hilarious. I felt bad for Rey -- it wasn't his fault he came out at No. 30.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Speaking of... yesterday I watched Rey vs. Eddie from 1997 Halloween Havoc for the first time since it happened. (It was on a short-list of the best wrestling matches of all-time.) If you've never seen, it's fantastic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>