GeronimoJacksBeard

Apologies if i'm asking a stupid question with an obvious answer here - but i'm not at all clear on my situation with this announcement and would appreciate if any of you could make sense of it.

First of all - myself, my mother, my brother and his family are all tier 4 and we all live within 30 mins of each other. Up until 2 weeks ago my brother, his heavily pregnant girlfriend and my nephew were all living with my mother and had been for the previous 2 years. Brother and his girlfriend moved into their own home 2 weeks ago and planned to just have myself and my mother over. I live alone, but i also look after my 2 year old nephew 2 days a week, have done for the past year (except for lockdown 1) and basically most of his life. Since they've moved into their own place my mother now lives alone again also. But she also looks after my nephew regularly (having lived him his entire life until a couple of weeks ago). As far as i gather that classes myself and my mother as part of their "support bubble", no?

Would we be within the guidelines to visit them? Would we be cunts if we did? In all honesty i'm not saying i plan to, i'd be bothered by my Mum being on her own, but i think she may well say it's for the best not to herself anyway. I can get by on my own, i'm one of those that never discuss my mental health with others when i probably should, it's definitely become more of a noticeable struggle recently. I had to have an emergency operation end of October that has effectively left me predominantly in isolation since anyway, save for looking after my nephew. He's become pretty much the only person i see for quite some time now and i adore my time with him, one of the few things that is good for my mental health. I know that my brother and his girlfriend will insist we still come over and i'd truly be gutted not to hang out with my nephew for the day. Only, even if we were to be sticking within the guidelines by going i'd feel shitty doing it when others couldn't as well as how it would probably appear to their brand new neighbours. His girlfriend will also be having a home birth in the next few weeks so could be getting off on very bad footing with them as it is.

4 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I hate the way "dives" have become a shorthand for "not knowing how to work" or "no psychology". I blame Cornette for the most part, but JR's been on at it again, basically acting as if the two are mutually exclusive...

What i saw from a recent JR gripe with dives in relation to "not knowing how to work" wasn't merely the frequency of the spot being performed on a card, but how it is performed  - basically everyone grouping together and watching and waiting for someone to jump on them. There's ways of being creative and making the spot work and not seem so hokey, it's become a go to certainly, only with that generally executed in a lazy fashion for why it would be happening within the story of a match.

Which is a definite petty annoyance of mine, possibly just a byproduct of working a little myself with what you notice after the fact with different eyes, yet it does seem the effort to disguise things just isn't there so much these days. In training it'll be drummed into you not to look like you're waiting for your opponent to do something, hit their move, waiting for a spot, obvious feeding. Yet you see it all the time all over shows and from supposedly well respected good workers, sometimes the very ones bringing up this point in training. 

Also on a similar note to Pats about certain spots for certain parts of the card or certain workers. It's become all too common that if a slightly big lad can do something somewhat athletic it becomes one of their regular spots, despite their size and the rest of their presentation.  I  haven't seen them for ages so he might not be doing it anymore, but i abhor the fat viking fella doing his shitty handspring and cartwheel spot. 

Alternative discussion point - Can a worker truly be regarded as one of the very best if they only ever got over big on one side of babyface/heel? 

I have absolutely no clue when it comes to this twitch stuff and as discussed find such a large audience willing to pay for such things baffling. So i wasn't aware Vega was playing the twitch gimmick too and was pretty stunned to see she'd been released. Upon delving deeper realised it was seemingly down to the third-party dealie and that she's twitching, but turns out she's proper ignoring that ruling as she's working the OnlyFans gimmick as well! Which i found even more shocking, knowing the kind of content that generally appears on there and suddenly found her release a bit more understandable. But seems she uses it purely for Cosplay content, yet most shocking of all...she's charging $500 a photo or $1000 for 10 photos. Fucking hell!

22 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I've said before that I'm pretty convinced that Omega assumed Ibushi would come with him to AEW, and that whatever they're doing with Omega and Page is them retrofitting a Golden Lovers story on to a new character. I don't think it's a coincidence that Kenny Omega almost immediately booked himself into an emotionally motivated tag team break-up story, he just changed things around to fit the change of cast.

I don't think you're wrong in that elements of this angle are something Kenny may have thought of doing with Ibushi...he didn't quite immediately book himself into this tag story in AEW though. Rather, his immediate booking gives me the impression the story of insecurity and self-doubt was actually originally intended more for his own arc. This exciting new company starting up, bringing the guy everyone's been talking about for the past several years and supposed best wrestler on the planet right at the centre of it. Coming in with all these big expectations, only to flounder and lose all his big matches. Particularly the bit that opened Dynamite following his match with Moxley, where he's told he's not cleared to compete, he asks about Mox and the Doc is like 'yeah, he's all good, cleared and wrestling tonight'. Omega seems utterly dejected hearing that and as though he's really doubting himself and the perception he'd come over with. Only for that to get seemingly abandoned shortly after and the angle retconned to fit Page instead and give Kenny a slightly different direction. 

4 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I think Sadie had two matches on Dark

There was definitely more than that, but the matches were edited to shreds to the point they made absolutely no sense to the viewer, giant chunks missing, seemingly because they were such a clusterfuck there was no salvaging them. That or just super lazy editing, most likely a bit of both. She was absolutely not TV ready, certainly not live TV ready. Think she got heat in that stupid 'hasn't paid their dues' mentality from other wrestlers, but didn't help herself much in the process either.  The post after yours is fairly accurate really. Think it was those points and that Jericho likes his blondes and the idea of giving her some speaking out material. Those seem like some very sensible releases to be honest, as they seemed like quite mental signings to begin with.

I'd certainly agree on the affect of that HBK/Taker match and i also hated Hogan/Rock and what it represented in a mentality shift from the previous few very successful years. But i don't think you can pinpoint that as the moment they just went all nostalgia and told you anything new wasn't as good. The very next night Brock Lesnar debuted. He was brand new there, but he's their only real genuine name star today, some 18 years later so it definitely happened much later on. They spent the entire remainder of that year cementing him and in doing so, making a point of putting him over very strong over stars of previous eras. Made him their youngest ever World champion at the time. That same year Randy Orton, John Cena and Batista were brought to the main roster. It wasn't long before all three were pushed as their headliners and biggest stars and remained around for much of the next 18 years. They certainly didn't entirely abandon forward and future thinking by any stretch in 2002.

Vince has always gone back to stars from the past in every era, the only short exception being when the biggest competition took most of them, so he was forced to take a different approach. Even then he still flirted with the idea and did as soon as he could.

Looks absolutely tremendous to be honest. After Nash revealed those photos of the state of his legs these days not so long ago, made me assume that toothpick legs had always been an issue for him, but got by because 'upper body business brother' and all that. Turns out once upon a time they were just as big and sexy as the rest of him.

I don't have a twitter, but someone tweet that to the OSW lads if someone hasn't already. They discuss Mack Trucks outfit and surmise that it must be a singlet if you stripped away his tassely pants. Which there must be loads more cases of. Bret always got me a little. I think he had similar, a singlet like he rocked at Survivor Series '93, long pants over those and then trunks over the long pants. So many unnecessary layers. Must have had the sweatiest bollocks in the world when he dropped the belt to Shawn.

Willie McLean

Paulo Wanchope

You'd think that's Undisputed Era, surely? Seems almost too obvious, so might be an intentional mislead. Although i'm only really basing this assumption on that description, knowing Cole dropped the belt recently and the following traditional Triple H twitter pointy post which seems to imply an NXT departure.

Tony Yeboah

[/] Vince drinking water gif.[/]

No, i'll attempt to elaborate, but it's unpopular opinion i'm not expecting people to understand what i'm meaning and absolutely not to particularly agree. Broken down, "professional wrestling" implies it is the already existing (legitimate) sport, merely competed at a level in which the competitors are paid for competing in. Professional wrestling isn't wrestling. It evolved from that into a performance based con, into pure performance. It's evolved into this utterly bizarre creature of its own that is a weird and wonderful mixture of so many things rolled into one - it's live action comic book, live action beat 'em up/fighting games, theatre, circus, even magic all blended together. When i say magic, i don't mean supernatural hocus-pocus. I mean magic is an art form, also derived from a performance based con that developed into a pure performance that the audience is willingly in on for the sake of entertainment. Deep down everybody knows magicians aren't actually carrying out supernatural, otherworldly acts. Just like deep down everybody knows a professional wrestling match isn't actually a legitimate sporting contest in which one is attempting to incapacitate or score a victory on their opponent.

Had professional wrestling never been referred to as such (or changed somewhere down the line) we might not/never have the whole silly "dOn'T yOu kNOw iT's faKE!?" nonsense that's forever existed (meh, probably not). That exists because once upon a time it was presented as such and even longer that pretence was attempted to be maintained by those that took part in it as their livelihood. We are so very far past that in this day and age. But it's still referred to as "professional wrestling", a misleading term really, that will still lead to the tired, never-ending "fake" argument. It's so completely it's own animal there is no term for what it really is. Personally, i think i'd have liked perhaps "lucha" to have evolved into the universal term. But it's too ingrained with one particular style/culture that it would never happen. The word derives from the same general meaning as wrestling, but also come to be accepted as "show wrestling", which i guess is about the closest, accurate definition you could give it. Part of the reason i loved the whole concept and presentation of Lucha Underground is it felt like a move in that direction.  I can understand Vince's move to find or create other ways for his professional wrestlers and professional wrestling to be referred to and eventually accepted. Like superstars, sports entertainment, simply WWE rather than World Wrestling Entertainment. But none of them really work or are too vague.

Uh, quite obviously not. No.

7 hours ago, wordsfromlee said:

Wasn't WWFE the name of the parent company of WWF? It was renamed that from Titan Sports Inc. in the late '90s then changed to just WWE along with the name change of the fed.

Here's an unpopular opinion - wrestling is a shit name/term to refer to what pro-wrestling has evolved into. Something like Titan Sports might actually be better. Had i grown up on '80s and '90s WWF being called 'Titan Sports' instead, my infant brain would have happily accepted that into my world and imagination alongside things like X-Men and Gladiators no questions asked. In general though, in this day the performance art of professional wrestling should have it's own completely unique name/term that entirely separates it from legitimate combat sports.

Oh and 2005 and early 2006 WWE was indeed banging. For all the reasons mentioned. Raw anyway. Up until the DX bollocks shat on everything.

Like many, much of the events of this year has taken me more out of wrestling than ever before. A Big E title chase is perhaps one of the only things that could keep me invested at this stage. I've posted many times previously how i believe there's so many reason why he is the guy. But don't switch him, he's your babyface. That bit with Kofi is the exact feel and approach i'd want them to take. If it happens without a crowd and as a result where i can't be bothered to watch that will be hugely gutting.

3 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

Seconded. He was never going to set the world alight, but not having him go for HHH was a massive misfire. They'd already done the angle, he had the badass 90s look, killer gibberish music, plus a really space age moveset (pumphandle powerslam! The best big boot in the world! A gut wrench powerbomb No Mercy had to make a new animation for! Elbow drops from the other side of the ring!). He was Shawn Michaels and Diesel fused together without the cocaine and ring seasoning.

Ha! That's a wonderful and accurate description. This long hair, long pants, big booting version of Test is firmly in my boy stable. I don't think the belief that Test should have been in Shows place for Survivors '99 is so unpopular. I certainly wanted it at the time, but moreso because i was absolutely convinced it's where they were going and what they wanted us to want. All the pieces were in place it seemed so obviously the direction once the Austin angle unfolded. If i remember rightly, he had a broken nose and face guard deal going on at the time, that occurred through a handicap match on the previous Smackdown with Triple Hs DX mates Billy and Road Dogg, giving him that extra little sympathy edge when he'd step up and enter into the title match. And due to the broken nose stuff, he wasn't on the Survivor Series card originally, but he was there! They showed him backstage. He was free! He probably had his gear. He was obviously a step down from your Austin, Rock and Triple H, but Austin was out causing a forced, unique situation making it the ideal set of circumstances and timing (in that little period before the proper 'Mania build - potentially creating another believable Rumble contender also) to elevate him. Could not have been more convinced it's how that night was ending. That they went with facial hairless, coffin surfing, constantly crying Big Show was an almighty letdown. And i don't dislike Show.

On a separate note, always found it an interesting tidbit that Austin vs Rock vs Triple H match never ended up happening at any other time either.

14 hours ago, Scott Malbranque said:

If Orton doesn't do a leg slap when he misses the punt, I'll be devastated.

This. After his tweets, i'm really hoping it's a big sarcastic piss-take on the standard NXT "epic".

Ha. What a pathetic response that was from Ciampa. Good to see Orton highlighting such bollocks, few things annoy me more about the wrestling style of today than that trend. The leg slap can be a great effect when disguised and used to highlight the impact of a particular strike. Wrestlers today make zero effort to disguise it, do it for ALL strikes, but worst of all constantly do it when their opponent is striking them! Feels like a result of the whole 'everyone knows it's fake, who cares' mindset. It's the sort of thing i'm amazed someone like Regal, who's been noted before as pushing the fact that the art of a wrestling match comes down to looking as though and making people believe you are legitimately trying to beat your opponent, isn't constantly flipping his lid and bollocking people for it like he did in that episode of Breaking Ground with the shoulder roll into fighting stance bit.

8 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

I can’t think of too many they could do for a third series.

Chyna.

Edit - Maybe that qualifies simply as the dark side of fame, rather than specific to pro-wrestling. Nonetheless, her rise and fall is quite the story with plenty of fucked up material.

The Japanese Dojo system would indeed be interesting.

It would certainly have to address the bigger Ashley Massaro story as well, but i'm also going to suggest the Diva search in general.

I'd never particularly found McCool attractive (standing next to Layla so often will take the shine off anyone tbf) and I can't be dealing with all the 'God is dope' bollocks, but there's been several points through this series that i've thought "fucking hell, he's done alright there".

Quite the nothing episode really and possibly suffered from the total ignoring of the transparent fact of the Saudi gigs being such a sweet pay deal for why any of them were coming back and taking them.

Glen Jacobs was so perfectly cast to be Undertaker's brother. Being huge and fucking jacked for one, but the element of the ginge that 'Taker had too really made that shit work for me. As well as being an ugly enough bastard that he was much better off under a mask. It's odd, i've seen what Glen Jacobs looks like thousands of times, yet i still find seeing him unmasked in those early years of being Kane fascinating.

(Realise how the general tone of this post comes across, no need to point it out)

4 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Never heard anything bad about The Rock have we?

There was CM Punk. But, well...yeah. Kevin Nash isn't so keen, is he? And isn't there very legitimate beef between him and the other Diesel (Vin)?  Of course some of it was purely about making money together, but Cena didn't think he was quite so wonderful either, no?

The only other thing i can think of is the I Quit match with Foley.

I was coming in to mention Kane. I think he'll be one of the very few who'll qualify out of those who are still alive. Maybe dirt will come out on him one day, but i reckon it would have by now considering his new job. The only thing i think anyone's not liked about him is some of his work. Even that is only work-rate perv fans and likely think as much because he's big but doesn't do moonsaults or spin kicks. For such a genuinely fucking huge, scary looking fucker he by all accounts seems the absolute nicest bloke in the world. But even when it comes to the bullshit wrestling stuff like the politics and whatnot. Don't think you've ever heard any fuss about him on that front, refusing to job, fucking other people over, hurting anyone, none of that.  And willing to run with whatever absolute bollocks WWE asked of him. Work with fire, portray a rapist, shave half your head and eyebrows off constantly, feud with Shane McMahon.  And a lot of the time just about making it work. Big Red Top Bloke.