WWE Network
-
@Kid-Chocolate said in WWE Network:
Vince is stepping down. He just did a short appearance to introduce Smackdown, didn’t say much (maybe later in the show?), but he looked and sounded awful, looking very old, the bags under his eyes are startling. Been a very tough week doubtlessly, I wonder if he’s had any sleep. He looks defeated tbh.
“The most important thing is that we are in this together.”
Cryptic. What does this mean? Are Steph & Trips pushing Vince out of his own creation? Is Vince going to go scorched earth and risk burning it all down??
It's all a work - Vince has 83% of voting shares in the company. He will not be stepping down. He is even still working there as head writer for Raw and Smackdown
-
@Stockcar86 the old bastard is finally retiring as of today
-
@FakatavaAllBlack said in WWE Network:
@Stockcar86 the old bastard is finally retiring as of today
and non-coincidentally, HHH returns immediately as EVP Talent Relations
-
I saw this for the first time yesterday - we need more ref's doing this sort of stuff
-
@FakatavaAllBlack said in WWE Network:
@Stockcar86 the old bastard is finally retiring as of today
Wrestling stopped being good about 20 odd years ago when all the massive steroid freaks got phased out….or died
-
@MN5 said in WWE Network:
@FakatavaAllBlack said in WWE Network:
@Stockcar86 the old bastard is finally retiring as of today
Wrestling stopped being good about 20 odd years ago when all the massive steroid freaks got phased out….or died
I'm a fan of the lucha inspired westling that is becoming more common these days. Lots of high spots. One of the things I like more about AEW/RoH these days is they have a good mix - some big guys and slug fests and athletic aerial stuff too.
I think AEW does well showcasing all styles - Young Bucks (all high spots) and FTW (whose motto is fists not flips).
-
You’d have to believe he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
-
So long as Levesque isn’t booking himself, he’ll do a good job. If he knows what he’s doing, he’ll emulate the relationship Berry Gordy had with Smokey Robinson, hand the keys to Paul Heyman and tell him he has the green light and backing to do whatever he wants.
-
@Kid-Chocolate Agreed. I guess that John Laurinaitis will be let go too.
I hope the product has more focus to wrestling. I read that Smackdown a week ago had less than 15 minutes of wrestling in a 2 hour show
-
-
Great news for those (probably everyone except me) who don't have a Fite subscription. AEW wrestling to be broadcast on ESPN, so if you have Sky Sports, you can watch
-
And it looks like it is starting from this week. AEW Dynamite 2pm Thursday ESPN2, and AEW Rampage 6pm on Saturday
-
-
-
I had 3 periods of WWF fandom - mid-80s, early 90s, late90s-early 2000s. Has barely been on the radar since but am really enjoying a podcast from former manager and borderline psychopath Jim Cornette. Brilliant stories about all of the greats and not so greats. He's a ridiculous curmudgeon but incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
-
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
I had 3 periods of WWF fandom - mid-80s, early 90s, late90s-early 2000s. Has barely been on the radar since but am really enjoying a podcast from former manager and borderline psychopath Jim Cornette. Brilliant stories about all of the greats and not so greats. He's a ridiculous curmudgeon but incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Amazing hearing what some of those guys got up to between matches. If you go through ANY card from the 80s you can virtually guarantee about half of them are dead. Steroids/painkillers/alcohol and cocaine are any uneasy mix.
Jake the Snake has some absolutely terrific yarns ( even if some are very contradictory )
Most of the “heels” sound like good guys in real life.
Many of the “faces” don’t ( British Bulldogs and Ultimate Warrior spring to mind )
Haku is universally regarded as THE guy that no one wanted to fuck with. Some of his brawling stories are legendary.
Honourable mentions in the tough fluffybunny stakes to the Barbarian, Ravishing Rick Rude, Road Warrior Hawk, Dan Spivey )
Andre the Giant was either a nice guy or a bully depending on who tells the story. One thing NOT in dispute was his drinking ability.
-
@MN5 said in WWE Network:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
I had 3 periods of WWF fandom - mid-80s, early 90s, late90s-early 2000s. Has barely been on the radar since but am really enjoying a podcast from former manager and borderline psychopath Jim Cornette. Brilliant stories about all of the greats and not so greats. He's a ridiculous curmudgeon but incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Amazing hearing what some of those guys got up to between matches. If you go through ANY card from the 80s you can virtually guarantee about half of them are dead. Steroids/painkillers/alcohol and cocaine are any uneasy mix.
Jake the Snake has some absolutely terrific yarns ( even if some are very contradictory )
Most of the “heels” sound like good guys in real life.
Many of the “faces” don’t ( British Bulldogs and Ultimate Warrior spring to mind )
Haku is universally regarded as THE guy that no one wanted to fuck with. Some of his brawling stories are legendary.
Honourable mentions in the tough fluffybunny stakes to the Barbarian, Ravishing Rick Rude, Road Warrior Hawk, Dan Spivey )
Andre the Giant was either a nice guy or a bully depending on who tells the story. One thing NOT in dispute was his drinking ability.
Dark Side of the Ring is an excellent series for finding out more. The story of the Von Erich brothers in particular is tragic beyond belief. 5 out of 6 sons dead before the age of 33 (3 suicides). It is (or at least was) an absolutely insane business. Pretty much everyone involved has been fůcked up in some fashion. It's also fascinating to learn of how the business used to be divided into territories and how Vince McMahon changed all of that. And of course there is the concept of kayfabe which was like a religion back in the day.
What's interesting is who I liked as a kid vs how they were actually regarded by other fans and wrestlers. Ultimate Warrior is a prime example. He blew me away as a kid, but I've since realised he was a shit wrestler and universally hated. I hated Rick Flair with a passion, but it seems like he's universally regarded as the GOAT. Later on I thought the Hart bros were the absolute shit. I never liked Stone Cold (wanted Vince to win their feud) or Goldberg. Huge fan of the Rock even when he was a heel.
But yeah, despite really enjoying it I have no interest in watching it any more.
-
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
@MN5 said in WWE Network:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
I had 3 periods of WWF fandom - mid-80s, early 90s, late90s-early 2000s. Has barely been on the radar since but am really enjoying a podcast from former manager and borderline psychopath Jim Cornette. Brilliant stories about all of the greats and not so greats. He's a ridiculous curmudgeon but incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Amazing hearing what some of those guys got up to between matches. If you go through ANY card from the 80s you can virtually guarantee about half of them are dead. Steroids/painkillers/alcohol and cocaine are any uneasy mix.
Jake the Snake has some absolutely terrific yarns ( even if some are very contradictory )
Most of the “heels” sound like good guys in real life.
Many of the “faces” don’t ( British Bulldogs and Ultimate Warrior spring to mind )
Haku is universally regarded as THE guy that no one wanted to fuck with. Some of his brawling stories are legendary.
Honourable mentions in the tough fluffybunny stakes to the Barbarian, Ravishing Rick Rude, Road Warrior Hawk, Dan Spivey )
Andre the Giant was either a nice guy or a bully depending on who tells the story. One thing NOT in dispute was his drinking ability.
Dark Side of the Ring is an excellent series for finding out more. The story of the Von Erich brothers in particular is tragic beyond belief. 5 out of 6 sons dead before the age of 33 (3 suicides). It is (or at least was) an absolutely insane business. Pretty much everyone involved has been fůcked up in some fashion. It's also fascinating to learn of how the business used to be divided into territories and how Vince McMahon changed all of that. And of course there is the concept of kayfabe which was like a religion back in the day.
What's interesting is who I liked as a kid vs how they were actually regarded by other fans and wrestlers. Ultimate Warrior is a prime example. He blew me away as a kid, but I've since realised he was a shit wrestler and universally hated. I hated Rick Flair with a passion, but it seems like he's universally regarded as the GOAT. Later on I thought the Hart bros were the absolute shit. I never liked Stone Cold (wanted Vince to win their feud) or Goldberg. Huge fan of the Rock even when he was a heel.
But yeah, despite really enjoying it I have no interest in watching it any more.
100%. It’s all nostalgia for me, no interest nowadays and looking back I realise that all of my favourite wrestlers were the kind of, how do I put this…..almost superstars like Rick Rude ( he’d be number one ), Randy Savage, Mr Perfect etc. the top heels who fought the champions.
The Warrior is universally regarded as a terrible wrestler with a limited skillset, a guy who others had to carry in matches. Apparently Rick Rude knocked him out backstage for being too stiff in the ring.
In saying all that this is still sad, he was dead not long after this went to air…..
Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold……yeah I didn’t care for them much either.
It is awesome hearing Demolition being interviewed. They look like a pair of drunk old uncles at a BBQ. Great blokes !
…..and yeah that von Erich story is too tragic for words. I think Kevin lost all of his brothers by his 40s……Jesus Christ. Kerry ( Texas Tornado ) wrestled with a prosthetic foot that he kept secret from everyone, even other wrestlers backstage !
-
@MN5 said in WWE Network:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
@MN5 said in WWE Network:
@Rancid-Schnitzel said in WWE Network:
I had 3 periods of WWF fandom - mid-80s, early 90s, late90s-early 2000s. Has barely been on the radar since but am really enjoying a podcast from former manager and borderline psychopath Jim Cornette. Brilliant stories about all of the greats and not so greats. He's a ridiculous curmudgeon but incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining.
Amazing hearing what some of those guys got up to between matches. If you go through ANY card from the 80s you can virtually guarantee about half of them are dead. Steroids/painkillers/alcohol and cocaine are any uneasy mix.
Jake the Snake has some absolutely terrific yarns ( even if some are very contradictory )
Most of the “heels” sound like good guys in real life.
Many of the “faces” don’t ( British Bulldogs and Ultimate Warrior spring to mind )
Haku is universally regarded as THE guy that no one wanted to fuck with. Some of his brawling stories are legendary.
Honourable mentions in the tough fluffybunny stakes to the Barbarian, Ravishing Rick Rude, Road Warrior Hawk, Dan Spivey )
Andre the Giant was either a nice guy or a bully depending on who tells the story. One thing NOT in dispute was his drinking ability.
Dark Side of the Ring is an excellent series for finding out more. The story of the Von Erich brothers in particular is tragic beyond belief. 5 out of 6 sons dead before the age of 33 (3 suicides). It is (or at least was) an absolutely insane business. Pretty much everyone involved has been fůcked up in some fashion. It's also fascinating to learn of how the business used to be divided into territories and how Vince McMahon changed all of that. And of course there is the concept of kayfabe which was like a religion back in the day.
What's interesting is who I liked as a kid vs how they were actually regarded by other fans and wrestlers. Ultimate Warrior is a prime example. He blew me away as a kid, but I've since realised he was a shit wrestler and universally hated. I hated Rick Flair with a passion, but it seems like he's universally regarded as the GOAT. Later on I thought the Hart bros were the absolute shit. I never liked Stone Cold (wanted Vince to win their feud) or Goldberg. Huge fan of the Rock even when he was a heel.
But yeah, despite really enjoying it I have no interest in watching it any more.
100%. It’s all nostalgia for me, no interest nowadays and looking back I realise that all of my favourite wrestlers were the kind of, how do I put this…..almost superstars like Rick Rude ( he’d be number one ), Randy Savage, Mr Perfect etc. the top heels who fought the champions.
The Warrior is universally regarded as a terrible wrestler with a limited skillset, a guy who others had to carry in matches. Apparently Rick Rude knocked him out backstage for being too stiff in the ring.
In saying all that this is still sad, he was dead not long after this went to air…..
Hogan, Flair, Stone Cold……yeah I didn’t care for them much either.
It is awesome hearing Demolition being interviewed. They look like a pair of drunk old uncles at a BBQ. Great blokes !
…..and yeah that von Erich story is too tragic for words. I think Kevin lost all of his brothers by his 40s……Jesus Christ. Kerry ( Texas Tornado ) wrestled with a prosthetic foot that he kept secret from everyone, even other wrestlers backstage !
My favourite as a kid was Brutus the Barber Beefcake. Also loved JYD, (although he seemed to lose all the matches I saw him in). Absolutely loved Strike Force (Rick Martell and Tito Santena). Actually Martell was a hugely underrated wrestler. His pretty boy feud with Sean Michaels was hilarious. First saw the awesomeness of Brett Hart at Summerslam 1992. He lost to the British Bulldog, but I was blown away by his technical ability. You could tell he was on a whole other level. But I had a soft spot for Owen. He was great. So sad what happened to him.