Donald J Trump

Beautiful suggestion, and a lot of people are saying that. Lots of people and many others. On a serious note, I do like the idea of extending devolution in England down to the regions. It would certainly be one way to level the playing field and resolve one of the biggest problems with a Federal UK, which is that one constituent part has over 80% of the population. Whilst the Senate style system I suggested could potentially work, there are negatives, and taking devolution down to the regional level may be a fairer and more democratic way of doing it. I've just seen that we're allowed more than five, so I'll add an increase in defence spending. At the moment we appear to be struggling to maintain a nuclear deterrent and a force capable of being effectively deployed in any meaningful way. Whilst I don't believe there's likely to be a land war in Europe in which were directly involved any time soon, I also think theres no reason why Europe as a continent shouldn't have confidence in it's ability to defend itself without American support. I don't believe we're there yet, but if a few countries in Europe followed Polands example in terms of investment, and coordinated to eliminate unnecessary duplication in some areas, we wouldn't need to worry as much about who's in the White House. I'd also bring back the NFL Europe. I used to watch the Claymores pretty regularly but outside of them winning the World Bowl that one time nobody really cared. I think things have changed in the 20 years since Claymores bit the dust and there's much more of an appetite for it now. While we're at it, I'd start MLB Europe too, and build big, expensive ballparks around the UK. Real wasteful white elephants. We've already got the EIHL which is alright, and a Basketball thing nobody gives a shit about, so I'm not bothered about those. I'm not having lame, dignified names that are meant to evoke national pride either like The Edinburgh Bravehearts, Cymru Valley Dragons or the Thames Royal Crowns. I want stupid Minor League Style names, like the Yorkshire Shrimp Kickers and the North East Fun Bastards.

In hindsight, I perhaps should have went with a WWE Hall of Famer who's moral outlook isn't entirely at odds with my own (and it seems the overwhelming majority of the forum). I might enquire to see if VKM is available. Burnham has always had that likeability factor, even going back to the last days of the Reich under Gordon Brown. Getting out of Westminster, keeping a high profile and ensuring he was doing something constructive while Jezza was at the helm turned out to be fortuitous, if not shrewdly calculated. If he does decide to come back to Westminster further down the road, he'll have left himself well positioned for a shot at the leadership if the timing works out.

Dan's effectively finished. He's still somewhere in the U-Bend but it's one of those ones where the waters just taking a little bit longer to drain away than usual. You can't see him and you'd struggle to know he was there, and any minute now that last, final flush will dislodge him and carry him into the rancid depths of the sewer. Thank you for your service Dan. We'll call you.

Trumps the guy at the party that'll talk to you but he's always looking around the room for somebody more important/interesting. He also suffers from chronic recency bias in that he's more likely to lean heavily towards the last thing that's happened, whether it's advice he's received or people he's met. If he sat down with Sunak and his people tomorrow they'd be flavour of the month until he met Starmer again. It's just how he operates. For Starmers part in it whilst finding common ground with Trump might give centrist dad's like myself the creeps it's just pragmatic politics again. Given where he's positioned himself there's no political capital to be gained in refusing to play the game. I really wish the political, media and electoral landscape weren't entirely at odds with my own moral/political compass but I can't kid myself, it is what it is.

If you'd woke up from a 15 year coma and seen that card you'd struggle to believe that certain individuals were seriously trying to sell us on the idea that WWE is going through a boom period. It's an event that's not only lacking star power, but there's little there in terms of something to get excited about. I can forgive a card lacking top level main event talent, but there should at least be individuals or matches that you're looking forward to seeing. If business is on the up, I wouldn't expect it to last long if this is the standard fayre outside of marquee events. That being said, I have paid far more than I'd ordinarily be comfortable with for Clash at the Castle tickets. It was extremely difficult to turn down the chance to be at what could be the only WWE PLE our country will ever see, and Im a big Drew McIntyre fan as well having followed his career outwith WWE. I mentioned it on another thread but I remember seeing him perform at a small venue just minutes away from the Hydro and the idea that he could go from that nightclub to potentially Main Eventing a WWE PLE at a nearby arena is a bigger deal than anything that's happened before in Wrestling on a personal level. The stage is set for what will either be the highest point in my time as a Wrestling fan, or the most brutal, soul crushing disappointment. I can say with absolute certainty that if it was just another wrestling show and it didn't have that patriotic/emotional pull id have avoided this event like the plague at those prices.

A good example of this would be the last general election in 2019. We had local elections in May, and a GE towards the end of the year, which I expect will be the case this time around. It's not a perfect example however, as the winning party changed leaders. The projected national equivalent for both Labour and Conservative was 28% each, Lib Dems 19%, and everyone else 25%. At the General Election later that year Conservatives took 43.63%, Labour 32.08 and Lib Dem 11.55%. Even taking into account the fact that it was a slightly chaotic few months between elections, it supports the idea that we shouldnt read too much into the PNE/PNS for this local election. When you factor in Reform, areas that weren't voting yesterday and the fact that for many it will be a binary choice at the next election, I expect the picture to be different, for Labours share of the vote at least. I wouldnt be surprised if the Tories remained around the 25% mark, and Reform selling out isn't off the table either.

Labours approach appears to me to be a scientific, data driven numbers exercise. They've analysed where the electorate stand on a range of issues, and have charted the course that will appeal to the demographics most likely to get them over the line while still maintaining party unity and remaining to the left of the conservatives. Any group they alienate has been a cynical calculation because they believe it will allow them to squeeze more votes out of a more electorally lucrative demographic. The problem with this approach is that politics is as much an art form as it is a science, and they are failing to build any meaningful relationship with any part of the electorate. They'll win enough votes at the next election because the Tories are finished, but people will drop them at the first sign of trouble. Whether Starmer really had a choice we won't ever know. Maybe the data is telling him the electorate as a whole is even less progressive than we think it is. Maybe after a failed Corbyn attempt at office, an incumbent Tory government that's abandoned the centre ground and a hostile right wing media, perhaps he looked at his chances and realised there's only one way to win, just as Tony Stark saw that rolling a seven was the only way to defeat Thanos. He might not deserve it, but I genuinely don't think this country can take another five years of the conservatives, and I mean that in the most literal sense possible.

That's insanely shit. I've just had a look at that month and it demonstrates beyond all doubt that the next feature absolutely has to be WCW House Shows in the 90s. The week after this spectacular they ran a show at Planet Ice in Blackburn, and the card featured gems like - Ricky Steamboat and Sting v Hollywood Blondes Ric Flair v Ric Rude Regal v Dusty Davey Boy v Vader for the gold Some towns at the time were getting the rough end of the pineapple and we're forced to endure Kole v Tom Zenk while others were seeing the Nature Boy and Sting. A thread on this would be extremely entertaining.

The only thing that comes to mind are the "Spring Break-out" episodes of Nitro in the late 90s, which came from the club in Florida that was the location of the last Nitro. It doesn't sound like the events you're referring to though as they weren't house shows and didn't feature just scrubs. It was definitely a club though.

They're "supporting" NOAH for their show in Edinburgh. Usually I'd be all over this as last time I seen NOAH it was quite good. At £45+ a ticket though, and being a few months away I'll probably give this one a wide berth.

Any WCW from the 90s would be great. I enjoyed going to see WCW and the house shows were good value for money, even when they were in the doldrums. You'd get a good mix of real star power then stuff like Haku/Meng in a fatal Four Way for the Hardcore title. Im not sure if I'm thinking about TV tapings, but the set up and production values were pretty decent too if I remember right.

Christ. I didn't know he was this prolific. What a busy little fucker. Maybe it is Peacocks that are scraping the barrel. I wonder if I could book him just to make a few appearances on my behalf.

I might be in the minority here but what's going through the mind of Michael Owen? I know the answer is definitely money, but what's a former Ballon D'or winner doing in a Peacocks window? Unless they've broke the bank getting him on the books that's a hell of a coup for Peacocks. Sure, he's not Ginola, but you're not going to find many fashion conscious dreamboats shopping in Peacocks. It's people on a budget, and if their wives aren't buying their clobber the blokes will be middle aged cheapskates like me that used to watch TFI Friday. Not knocking Peacocks either. As someone who squirms paying more than £20 for any item of clothing I'm all for alternatives to getting rinsed.

The dynamic with Reigns was perfect. A monsterous, cartoon heel relentlessly tormenting the golden boy in an ambulance. At the time I'd have been happy to watch an hour of that a week. I nearly cringed myself inside out during that Becky Lynch promo. Maybe television didn't fully pick up what actually happened, but it seemed like she was reacting to crowd noise that hadn't actually happened. She then stood like a goof until a handful of people put her out her misery with a feeble "You deserve it" chant. I seen someone on social media claiming the "chant" was proof that her standing among the audience was still as strong as ever. I wanted to poke my own eyes out after that segment. I had hoped that the insufferable cunt ishowspeeds appearance at Wrestlemania was a one time deal. I did like though that everyone from the commentators to Logan Paul himself switched to acting like he wasn't there whenever anything more interesting was happening. McIntyre continues to be the best thing on the show and I think he's now one of the few genuine stars they've got at the minute. Levels above the likes of Jey Uso not only in terms of ability but in his presence and charisma. I hope he took them to the cleaners with that new deal.

Despite the best efforts of my better half I've never been a fan of Harry Potter, but I've been really impressed with some of Radcliffes work and I think he's carried himself extremely well. It's no exaggeration to say that he became one of the most recognisable people on earth at an age where I was effectively useless, and in those cases there are no guarantees how things are going to play out. Some people go off the rails completely, some acting careers are finished before they've been able to legally buy a pint, and the level of success he's had should be no means be taken for granted. A Tony award is a big deal, and if anyone's yet to see Imperium make it a priority to see it. I don't know if he welcomes the opportunity to contribute towards the trans debate, but the way he's been positioned by other people is extremely unfair.