Duke

42 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

He’s pretty much always been great in ring. I don’t like this new UFC offence he’s getting in, but he’s just a wreck outside the ring. He was also bigging up his sex pest mate Paul Robinson who worked earlier on the show. I guess with his mums permission.  

What was wrong with the offence?

1 minute ago, Keith Houchen said:

I can understand why someone with autistic children would find discussion about it in a throwaway, almost crass fashion upsetting. I’m just glad that Hannibal wasn’t posting on here when someone used their child’s autism as an excuse for the poster acting like a right fucking arsehole and then flouncing off.

That would’ve probably really upset him and rightly so. 
 

14 minutes ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

Back to people actually being twats

 

It's a work, brother.

So, basically, Tony Khan is a complex human being who, like everyone else on the planet, has positive and negative characteristics. Because he's a billionaire with a pretty big platform, those characteristics get emphasised, and with the right cocktail of personality, the spotlight can exacerbate flaws and failures. This is actually pretty normal.

Also, no one is particularly happy that he seems to have no issue hiring people who have multiple accusations of sexual harassment and assault, but it doesn't seem like many people are going to boycott the TV over it.

Also, Tony Khan has more good faith than noted accomplice to murder and incest perv Vince Mcmahon. 

Also, people are tribalistic. This includes people who fundamentally believe all billionaires are twats by virtue of them being billionaires. It also includes billionaires themselves. It definitely includes wrestling fans.

Also, we have an ignore feature

Finally, if you're fundamentally opposed to this topic, my recommendation is to stop posting in it or looking at it. It'll die if most people don't interact with it.

41 minutes ago, Your Fight Site said:

Never had the time being a CEO, innit?

Steph's managed it. Wow, I guess you really can have it all.

28 minutes ago, Mr_Danger said:

All the stick United got for how much they paid for Pogba and barely a word printed about how Lukaku is one of the worse transfers in history.

I don't know where you're looking, but I've read loads about how awful he's been.

It is worth pointing out that Chelsea have acted, albeit not permanently, after one bad season. Pogba's only leaving because his contract ran out.

Won't have a word said against Timo Werner. Beautiful man.

There seems to be a lot of gloating and sour grapes over Chelsea gazumping Arsenal to Raphinha. A lot of "what have we been doing??" from dem guns, but it strikes me that this is Arsenal's strategy working for them.

They don't need another attacking midfielder, but he was worth the punt at the offer they put in. He wasn't worth the punt at the money Leeds wanted,  but he was for Chelsea. Isn't that best case for everyone?

7 hours ago, mrtrickio said:

?????

Obviously I was referring to Pentagon Black. Pentagon Black won't be on the show. Yeah, that's it.

Whenever I think of this, I think of Regal's video tribute from that raw show. Confusing at the time, fairly sobering now.

6 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

On the Silas Young thing, that’s another bit that baffled me - they’re already cramming all your guys and all the NJPW guys on this episode, did they really need to add another new person from ROH on top of it? I’m sure he’s fine but he looked like a non-descript less impressive Butcher and never had a chance to stand out amongst however many other people we were supposed to take notice of this week.

They pointed out on comms that he and Hangman have a significant history, which I guess was why. Your comparison with the Butcher is totally valid though, and obviously what should happen is that Butcher should dump Blade, team up with Silas Young and have a NO FLIPS JUST FISTS feud with FTR.

A fun show that was a bit over stuffed while they try to save Forbidden Door. It probably seemed like a good idea when they were going to have Punk, Danielson and Omega on it. They've had to hotshot so much though, which is a shame. 

- A shame but a not unexpected one about Bryan missing the two shows. Anyone coming in is only going to be a disappointment, sadly. I hadn't considered Claudio, but it definitely will be, won't it? I wondered about Johnny Gargano (Who my heart still beats for as long as he's kept away from Adam Cole), but Claudio seems way more likely.

- Great to have OC back. He and Ospreay, weird as that is, will probably have an absolute banger. The three title match should be good fun too

- The Christian promo was really excellent, MJF reference included, until the Luke Perry stuff. You felt him building to it and it was just so, so unnecessary. Get your head out of the attitude era Christian mate. Curious as what "remember what happened to Marko?" means and I look forward to this story evolving.

- The Bucks and some NJPW guys I've never heard of against Derby, Sting and some NJPW guys I've never heard of is proper "We need to get these guys on the show" level schlock. 

- Black v Penta was fun but ruined by the fact that we know Black won't be on the show, so the winner was never in doubt.

- Really enjoyed Hangman v Silas, and I'd like to see more of Silas Young. Glad to see the match with Jay White and Okada is a four way rather than a tag team, but it's proper hot shotted in the end and I agree it feels like they hadn't confirmed he was going to be there until tonight. There's a cool story to tell with Hangman vs White

- I didn't watch the women's match. Looks like that was a wise decision

- Really up for Jeff Cobb vs Cash Wheeler. That could be tonnes of fun.

- Main event was fun but I didn't come out of it thinking Tanahashi was this amazing Ace.  Mox has been building this show almost single handedly and doing a fine job. Still won't buy it mind.

The word is "awake". 

Thank you.

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I mean that’s part of the reason sure, but the idea it has no impact on business is insane. Orton got injured absolutely - and he’s amongst that group of genuine stars - they looked around, didn’t have one, and called one.

I’ve never disputed that. I’ve said that injury is part of why they’ve had to panic and make the call.

Suggesting Lashley or AJ or another weekly character would have worked just as well is utter madness.

Of course they would. Because not putting Brock against Roman doesn't mean you can't put him anywhere else on the show. Hell, you could've not broken up Judgement Day for a month and have him face Edge. That means you're not beating Brock again, diminishing him for no purpose, and you have the opportunity to raise the profile of someone else by having them take Roman to the limit. While I'd be alright with that being Lashley or AJ, again, Riddle is the best option. 

Randy Orton's never been a particularly good draw. He wasn't when he was feuding with Cena in 2009, he certainly isn't in 2022. They were clearly not concerned about having the biggest match possible at Summerslam before he was injured, because if they were they would've got Brock in the first place. Rather than going "crap, we better get Brock", which does them no good in the long or even medium term, they could've used this to elevate someone.

Because ultimately that's the problem. If they're looking around and thinking they've not got anyone who can lose decisively to Roman Reigns (because that's all anyone does these days), their response needs to be "we need to make some new stars". They should've thought of that years ago, but there we are. Maybe if Lashley runs through the Usos rather being in a pose down with Theory. Maybe you could stick him and the Street Prophets in a 6 man with the Bloodline. Maybe AJ Styles gets to do a veteran underdog Randy Couture story where he qualifies and goes up against the odds. Maybe you call up Bronn Brekker and have him fight literally everyone in the locker room and climb on top of the mangled pile to reach the MITB briefcase. In all of those options, if you play it right, at the end, you have someone who's a bigger star than they were going in, and who might even be another opponent for Roman down the line. 

You can still do all of that and have Brock on the show, and you can do it in a way that revitalises him a bit and makes his next appearance a bigger draw.

13 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Then why do you think they book Lesnar?

If it’s not for business reasons, why are they spending millions to bring him back to headline Summerslam?

Because Randy Orton got injured and they panicked.

That's the answer. That's obviously the answer.

WWE has shown time and time again over the past however many years that when the going gets tough they bring in a part timer. If Brock wasn't available they'd have probably defrosted Goldberg again. 

Orton was looking like a really good challenger for Summerslam. He and Riddle have got momentum behind them and are over, and don't feel like they've hit their ceiling. Even better, you can beat them (because obviously Roman was going to) and they just go back to their tag team so there's no loss there. Orton gets injured and that throws a small spanner in the works, but it's really easily resolved by just building Riddle up over the next few weeks and NOT DOING IT ON SMACKDOWN FOR FREE. That match had some interest behind it (as evidenced by the rating), and could easily have main evented Summerslam as a star making loss for Riddle. You then make the other main event Brock vs Drew, which Drew wins to build to Castle in the Clouds in Wales in September. 

That idea took very little time to think up, allows you to build two big matches for Summerslam and most importantly has two guys benefit from it for the shows beyond that point. 

We know because we know because we know that rematches lead to diminishing returns unless there's a particular clamour for one, that being that it was close, or controversial, or a particularly good match. Brock v Roman again won't do as well as the previous times it was booked because everyone's seen it and there's no good reason for it. Casual fans won't be outraged, but plenty of them will just think "meh, seen it" and move on, and Brock's drawing power will get that little bit less. That would all be fine except this match doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't help anything, it doesn't lead to anything. It just fills the time. They'll probably get a short term ratings bump, but nothing that's going to do anything sustainable. And the more they do this exact thing, the less impactful it gets. 

5 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Would AJ, Lashley or Riddle sell as well?

Sell what to whom? Since putting all their stuff on subs on the network they've not built around one match in the same way as they used to. 

But even if they did, I think Riddle, on the role he's on, properly built, probably would be a bigger draw than Roman v Brock again, especially as you could easily have Brock on the show against someone, anyone, else. Anyone who would buy for Brock would buy if he's in a second main event against,  I dunno,  Judgement Day. I can't imagine anyone is going to sub to Peacock thinking Brock is going to win.

I understand why they've brought back, but it's a knee jerk move. A bit more thought could've come up with a better solution.

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I think AJ or Lashley are the only arguable ones, and are they really better options?

Yeah, both of those are better options than Brock again, if only because Roman can have a better match with either of them.

The other option, of course, would have been to not beat Riddle on a random Smackdown. He's one of the most over stars on the show, you could've built him for a match on Summerslam.

It was a message to the shareholders that he's still in control and the company is still strong. Proper George Bluth stuff.

Yeah, man, that Wardlow segment was absolutely dreadful, wasn't it? A horrible "match" that didn't make Wardlow look good, involved him pinning almost everyone wrong, and then had him squared up to by a Matt Hughes that could barely walk. Absolutely the worst thing they've done with him.

56 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

Not sure anyone in wrestling has had a worst 2 weeks than MJF, and that’s saying something.

With all the #drama, his bit of business seems to have been completely forgotten.

I mean...Jeff Hardy, for one.

I don't think MJF has been forgotten, I think they're playing into the worked shoot of it all by pretending that he's actually been taken off TV. He'll be a joker soon.

9 minutes ago, CavemanLynn said:

The board have already concluded he used his own money, which, if it doesn't absolve Vince of the bulk of legal trouble, certainly sounds like the kind of detail that can bury a case in technicalities.

I didn't see this, have they concluded that just for the pay off, or for the salary increase as well?

25 minutes ago, Nick James said:

It feels like with it being a boardroom investigation, it could be used as a way to oust him at last, but whether they will or not I have no idea. 

The timing with Stephanie taking a step back is really interesting, I think. 

As Dart says, the problem, indeed the crime, is the use of company money, but one suspects that he will still get away with it. Maybe he'll have to write "I won't pay off women I'm sleeping with unless it's with my own money" 10 times on the blackboard.

Sadly, it feels like this isn't going to make a difference on a mainstream level. It's just wrestling being wrestling. 

If he's done this here, he's probably done it before, and it's a fairly terrible look for WWE that doing things like this has been a major part of his character for decades. Proper Weinstein open secret stuff. Horrible.

Pretty agreed with the consensus that this was not a good show. It was still easier to get through than WWE shows because of the good matches, but there's a lot that lowered my excitement rather than raising it.

- The Battle Royale suffered majorly from having very few interesting people in it. Andrade as the joker was the cherry on top of the crap sundae. There was noone, other than Eddie Kingston and Derby Allin, who looked like they might have been competition for Moxley, and even then you can't really imagine Derby Allin against Tanahashi (and Kingston only works because he can talk anyone into anything). Kyle O'Reilly wasn't even in the top 5 of the people I wanted to win, and it was really deflating when it was him. 

- On that note, if you're just going to piss about with the rankings so Mox is the number one contender, and Mox doesn't have to do the battle royale but gets to fight someone who's already wrestled that week, why not just give it to him at the start? Why do all this silly buggers? 

- The All-Atlantic belt seems bizarre to me. Especially considering Cole is walking around with that Owen belt. Are you only allowed to compete for it if you're not American? That'll last. I think it was this point that I first noticed "the visionary tony khan", which is a terrible, terrible nickname. He's going to be a regular character by the end of the year, isn't he?

- I don't dislike Adam Cole as much as many on here. I enjoy his matches, I think he's a great obnoxious frat boy promo. That being said, if you asked me the last thing I wanted him to do in AEW right now, after "feud with Kyle O'Reilly", it would be "another match with Hangman". I don't care if it's a triple threat with Okada, I don't want them in the ring together again for a while. Why is he still carrying that belt around? Is he going to defend it?

- "Welcome to Wardlow's World" is not a good catchphrase and needs to go in the bin immediately. Also "I don't want to fight for the interim belt, just the real belt" makes him look top level stupid. You get the shot at the real belt by winning the interim belt, dummy. I am glad that they acknowledged that they need to course correct on the TNT belt though, and I hope we get to see Wardlow kill Sammy soon, and I am so up for Wardlow vs 20 jobbers. Cracking idea.

- The Bucks/Hardys/Jurassic Express promo will be used as evidence in the negligent homicide case against Tony Khan when Jeff Hardy dies in the next 6 months. Completely ridiculous, and really not a match that I have any interest in seeing, mostly because of the inclusion of the Hardy's

I realise Forbidden Door is on the way, but I'm way more interested in the Blood and Guts match in a few weeks, which didn't even come up.

The hot new thing with new people coming in all the time was always going to wear off, and it's not a big deal that it has. It's still an exciting product with a lot going for it, but this was a weak show building to a weak show.

He may not have been able to damage that muscle any more  (although I suspect that's simplistic), but his risk of injuring other muscles in his body that work in conjunction with his pec is quite a bit higher.

He absolutely should not have been allowed to go out there, the decision should not have been in his hands. That's an absolute no brainer.

That being said...

He's now the biggest babyface in the company. I hope he is out for 6 months at this point because he should absolutely win the Rumble and beat Roman (assuming the Rock isn't available)

59 minutes ago, air_raid said:

The very first England game in the format was a win in Spain touted as a massive achievement - at the time. Nobody remembers it today.

It's a shame that the promise of another trophy to potentially wave around doesnt excite anyone. See - Europa Conference League. Its not the Cup Winners Cup.

The Europa Conference League was pretty important to Roma, to be fair.

1 hour ago, Louch said:

who else would they be going to face if not him

Goto, apparently.