CavemanLynn

I'm interested in what this could mean for the generation of talent that came up when WWE snapped up essentially the top-tier of UK wrestling. In the past few year, a lot of promotions have made a decent job of elevating guys and girls to fill those spots. With all these releases coming back into a UK market already decimated by COVID, there could be some jostling.

26 minutes ago, Duke said:

if Hanger comes out next week (is he on rampage with the DO tonight?) and explains that he was pooing or something

Only if he's doing it right. Losing a UKFF fave to the bane of wrong shitting would be too much to bear.

This is the second big show on the bounce that has been mired in shooty bollocks in the home straight. I don't want to give a shit whether Punk was firing shots for real; Moxley's been on a tear as the (don't call it) Interim champion and THAT's the threat. Mox has been building that belt for months with stellar matches and killer promos, and Punk turns up after crocking himself two days into his reign and puts a pin in the lot. Everyone asking "Where's Poochie Page?" is not good. It buries Page, buries the title angle, and throws everything up in the air. My anticipation for Punk vs Mox has gone from looking forward to a war between two veterans with something to prove, to whether a half-decent match is even going to take place.

2 hours ago, air_raid said:

 

 

 

You really can't appreciate how much cocaine HBK was on until you see it up close and personal. It's also mad how perspectives change - he's a camp obnoxious himbo even working face, and it's incredible that Vince wouldn't have realised he'd be a headache to work with.

These fancams and dark tapes you're turfing up are absolute gold. It's great watching how the stars of the day work when they aren't having to play for the camera, and on a strict time limit. I'm sure both were in place in some form back then, but it's refreshing and fascinating watching them really working the crowd, and getting as much as they can out of the fundamentals. If any current talent and trainees aren't watching these, they're sorely missing out.

12 hours ago, cobra_gordo said:

I've had a fairly hectic weekend to say the least. Played Bloodstock on Friday for the first time with my band. It's something we've always wanted to do so was lovely to be asked. Was pretty stressful getting in to the arena, we got stuck in the main carpark instead of crew/artists and had a 40 minute walk to get checked in, made ten times worse by the extreme heat. Once we were in it really made us question why we've never even been as fans before. Just a great atmosphere and nowhere near as massive a site as Download which really helps when it's baking hot with no breeze.

We always knew the secret band would be finishing 5 minutes before our set started and that we'd be soundchecking whilst they were on but when we found out it was Machine Head quite early on we were gutted. I'm a big fan so was kicking myself that we'd miss their set. At about half one I decided "Fuck it, I'm gonna find Rob Flynn" and set off towards the Sophie stage with full intentions of making the most of my backstage privileges. Got to backstage, had a wander around the cabins and vans but no sign of him or the rest of the band so turned around to leave, thinking we'd at least tried, as I clocked a familiar figure about 100m away doing some warm ups on his guitar. I made an excited grunt and left my Mrs and the rest of the band for dust as I marched over. I'd heard loads of rumours he was a bit of a prick but I can confirm that my new best friend Robb Flynn is a lovely human being. I told him I'd been a fan since I was 15 and was gutted we'd have to miss the set and why, we chatted about why they were there, took some pictures and he wished us good luck with our show. I'd been feeling pretty down up to that point, the heat was killing me, but meeting Robb gave me a real burst of energy. Look at the face on the happy idiot on the left.

We played our set to a packed Jagermeister tent that was spilling out in to the main arena which was awesome to see. Playing in that sort of heat was pretty tough but we put the same amount of effort in we normally would, it was just way more draining that usual. My Mrs was on the barrier and about half way in I had a smile to myself as it sunk in that I was playing Bloodstock. The crowd started chanting our name when we finished which was really overwhelming. There was a rumour circulating that we were drowning out stage left when Gwar started on the main stage 5 minutes before we finished which I really, really want to be true.

It took an hour and a half to get our gear from the stage loaded out and back to the car and then car park. I genuinely thought I was going to pass out from the heat at this point but the Bloodstock roadies did a fantastic job and really went over and above to help us out in what were pretty horrible conditions. We headed back to the press area to do a few interviews and clocked a couple more familiar faces, Mike Williams and Jimmy Bower from Eyehategod. We collared them for a quick chat and to gush about how much an influence they are. Again, they were lovely and were happy to make time to chat to a couple of swooning fanboys.

Despite the difficulties if Bloodstock asked us to play there again this afternoon I'd be straight in the car. Hopefully we can go back and play there next year, preferably on one of the less logistically ridiculous stages.

We had to leave fairly early as the next day me and the Mrs were off to see Mad Caddies at the Islington Academy. I bought the tickets pretty much three years ago as a wedding anniversary present as they're one of our favourite bands. It was hotter than Friday but thank fuck for overpowered air conditioning systems in indoor venues. We stayed on the barrier throughout, the highlight being Chuck the singer popping down to the barrier to chat to the fans mid-set, specifically stopping to talk to my wife and giving her a massive hug. They were clearly knackered during the show, had a bunch of technical difficulties and looked like they were getting a bollocking for over-running and interfering with the club night schedule. It's easily the best I've ever seen them play though. Met Chuck after, chatted for about 15 minutes and he ended up singing a brand new song they're working on directly in to my wife's face which was both cool and awkward as fuck.

I'm back at work this morning and I'm absolutely knackered, I feel hungover despite drinking a grand total of two pints across the whole weekend.

That sounds like an absolute dream, man. Well done on ya! 

Tony's never going to say publicly that Rampage is an afterthought. He's selling his shows to whoever's listening, so of course every show is SUPER important. You don't want to miss a minute of this action!!1!!

I think it's telling that Waititi said he didn't want to do another one after Ragnarok, then did a massive U-turn. The whole of Love and Thunder felt like he'd just pointed cameras at two actors in the Volume then fucked off. Marvel clearly saw even more dollar signs after Ragnarok and wanted more of the same, but Taiki thought fuck it, fine, I'll take the money. Plot points by committee, lip service to "themes" and "inclusion", a threadbare script and zero editing, temporarily masked by the ad company doing a brilliant last minute trailer. Save Bale hamming it up wonderfully in a localised IG filter, and fat Russell Crowe's casual racism, a flat slog.

I'm 100% with @Supremo, with the caveat that Mox MUST stop wearing wrist tape that makes him look like a rough stripper who's left his bow tie in the Gents. 

42 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

Sammy and Tay aren’t clicking with me as a heel act, and I’m not really sure why. Perhaps it’s just a case of them needing more guidance to refine their characters.

They just have the typical youngster thing of being arrogant dicks but without the unspoken confidence that comes with age and experience. Everything they do reeks of pre-meditated posturing, begging for a reaction, instead of being in any way natural. Sammy would love to be coming out to rapturous cheers rather than boos, and it shows. The eyes, chico.

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

 

Considering what ASLEF is an anagram for, she'd fit right in...

5 hours ago, deathrey said:

I watched an episode and a half (toddler kept waking up so we had to abandon it) of The Sandman last night but absolutley loved it! I think we will sail through the series quite fast

I'm three episodes in and it's excellent so far. The Sandman is so dear to me that I worried I'd have proper not-as-good-as reactions, but apart from minor quibbles (Patton Oswalt is great as Matthew, but a bit too overtly comedy perhaps, because I always imagined him with a more British befuddled twenty-something voice), it's lived up to my expectations. Tom Sturridge is doing a PHENOMENAL job as Morpheus - he's humanised the character earlier than the books (understandable considering how glacial he is there), but he's up there with Jonny Lee Miller for Eye and Jaw Acting, especially his wordless performance during the Jessamy scene.

Kross I have no time for, but Kross and Scarlett as an act I do. Tattooed monster with big tiddy goth gf is obviously money. They acknowledged in the past that they see a difference between a developmental gimmick and a main event talent, when Elias got called up after half a dozen competent matches on NXT doing little more than his finisher allocated from WWE's Wonderful World of Neckbreakers.

It'll be interesting to see how NXT relates to the main TV ongoing. There was always a clear disconnect between what NXT was producing under Dusty then Trips, and what was being presented on Raw and Smackdown. Dusty may have produced better all-rounders, but weeks of wrestling and promoing in front of a friendly crowd didn't translate to "stick em out there and rassle your way over in 8 minutes." Trips' call ups got strangely similar treatment, despite his focus clearly being on 'acts', where talent depth was reduced to karaoke entrances.

I always assumed Vince heard about a load of girls talking about Theory on their phones, and got the wrongest end of the stick.

I pray that TK's mental 5-year deal for the UE means they're under contract to something, so he ships them to AEW:ROH where they can have their ersatz-puro wankfests in pub function rooms well away from Dynamite where the big boys play.

8 hours ago, SpykeDudlei1 said:

Been said before but I’ll say it again, arguably the greatest ever thread in the long and illustrious history of the UKFF.

@air_raidyou are an absolute legend for the time, effort and detail you put into this. 

I salute you! 😀👋🏻

Absolutely seconded. Surely there's a coffee table book to be made from all this? I don't know what the rights are re: images and branding though. This thread has been absolutely brilliant, just the right blend of nostalgia, insight, and WTF commentary.

2 minutes ago, air_raid said:

is the idea of the "best 11" dead? 

.......

So in conclusion, yes

To "Super-Garth" - verb, slang: for when you answer your own question with a Post of the Year contender

WWE for years felt like Vince's mind through Kevin Dunn's lens. Now one of them's gone and the other one's seen the writing on the wall (and his safety net retired) so this should be the biggest shakeup onscreen and off for 25 years. Will it be as soon as tonight's RAW? And will they be able to stop themselves doing HHH vs Cody like it was Austin vs McMahon? 

3 hours ago, BomberPat said:

I don't mind so much when the ex-NXT crew are showing up on Dark, because there's a ton of people on those shows that there's no reason to care about, and they often feel like a bit a holding cell for people that they might have plans for later down the line. No excuse, given the roster AEW has, to put an NXT 2.0 cast-off like Cole Karter on the actual A-show, though, and I say that as someone who actually likes the "revolving door" vibe where someone might show up for one match and then never again.

There are people who get released from WWE that are absolute no-brainer signings no matter how stacked your roster already is. But anyone who's been hidden away on 205 Live, or been a bit part of the NXT rebrand, isn't someone you need to be rushing to get a contract in front of. 

 

Back in 2000, getting back into wrestling, my brother kept a hand-written list of names of every wrestler we saw on TV. He might have even kept a tally of how many matches we saw them in. But that was his way of trying to figure out who was on the WWF roster. Because we mostly saw stuff like Heat and Metal, it even had names like Low-Ki and Scoot Andrews on there, because we didn't understand that not everyone on those shows was under contract. Ever since then, I've had a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of who's under contract at any given time. The last couple of years with the rise of NXT 2.0 and 205 Live, is the first time where I might see a WWE match graphic and think, "who the fuck are these guys?". Just lists of names I've honestly never heard of before in my life. Even if Tony Khan is seeing some well of untapped potential in some of them, when you've got people like me not even knowing who half of them are, where's the rush to sign them? I'd be willing to concede that maybe Ariya Daivari brings something to the table as a producer/player-coach, maybe he has a ton of contacts that might come in handy later down the line, but what does Cole Karter bring to the table that a hundred other guys in or out of the AEW locker room don't? 

It's why I'm worried for AEW's direction or lack thereof at the moment. The big pull for AEW in its first few years were that it was built by and on guys who mostly hadn't been churned out by the WWE system. They had immediate experience of promotions all over the world, with the melting pot of influences that brings. Nothing I've seen from the NXT Gold castaways has shown me they have any ideas outside the WWE production cues and tropes. Backstage interviews that get cut off before they even start. Rigidly choreographed entrances. Looong matches riddled with unnecessary false finishes and no personality. And Little Tone is so in AWE of them all. 

Both Ricky and Jade have been on the turn for ages, due to their natural charisma and good matches. Starks has been firing up on the mic, and Jade's Baddies Section was even a step in that direction, at least when it was a social media vehicle instead of an infighting angle. There's been no formal angle, but a logical transition.

In fact, the slight heelish vibe I got from Hobbs worries me that a split may be on the way, just as they get the main show showcase they've deserved for ages. A face Team Taz could be gold, a colourful lower-card BCC that the faces can call on to fxxx shxx up, even if they don't necessarily win on their win.

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Marvellous  hoping the other two push to have it anyway and empty chair these two  

 

Debates don't have to be hostile; that's on them. Similarly, the purpose of a debate is to explain how and why your policies are a better option than the other candidates. You cant do that without a discussion. Or should that be, Sunak and Truss can't do that.

An issue for me, however, is that these debates are positioned very similarly to presidential debates. Intended or not, the vibe to me is "this party IS your ruling class, so you must assume that your Prime Minister will be someone from this party, not just for this political event but ongoing." I almost think that this should be a private conference, were it not for the entertainment of watching the party implode live.

22 minutes ago, jazzygeofferz said:

It looks like he's going for how Herman & Lily met, but implying that Herman was assembled by Grandpa, so they're technically brother and sister? 

That's just the shonky editing, I think. Hermann gets created at the start in typical Frankenstein fashion. The last time Grandpa tried to make her a boyfriend, he got Jackie Earle Haley doing a Nosferatu impression.

It's fascinating. I think I've watched it a dozen times already.

Jeeeeesus. You'd think a veteran millionaire rock musician with low-budget cinema credits who claims the Munsters is his favourite show ever could still afford to do more than get his mates around for a weekend and film them on an Iphone. Weird wobbly handheld camera work at odd times. Achingly dead air in others. Zero Fred Gwynne charisma from whoever that wonk they have as Hermann is. That two and a half minute trailer doesn't half outstay its welcome.

1 hour ago, Loki said:

A hell of a political gamble and it’s paid off.  It’s no use now against Johnson, but he can still use it against whichever Tory takes over.

This has weirdly cheered me up. So much was made of the Tories' control over the Met in recent months, I'd assumed any police action would go in their favour. Even if the wheels were falling off within the party, there was always the network around them to prop them up. Seeing this not go their way, even if it is less- or un-related, puts a smile on my face.

Corbyn actually had discussions with terrorists instead of gunning them down on sight in a fit of xenophobic fervour, so he was definitely a wrong'un.

Re: Labour putting forward a new candidate ahead of a GE, would there be any benefit to Starmer stepping back into a shadow cabinet role? He's been fairly colourless, but it feels like having a complete change of guard would land them with the same problem the Tories would have, with the added disadvantage of the Tories having 'champion's advantage' being in the top seat at present. If Labour are seen doing essentially the same thing at leadership level as the chaotic Tories, that seems too easy to turn into a 'look! They're just as bad as us! Stick with what you know, eh?' pro-incumbent media spin. At least having a new face up front with the current leader alongside presents some kind of unity.

Fantasy booking in the politics thread. Christ.