unfitfinlay

5 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

I'm not sure about that. Most King adaptations are terrible because usually they are made on the cheap by crap filmmakers, they are based on long books and get cut down to the point that there's barely a story left and because a lot of Kings best ideas just don't naturally translate very well to a visual medium. A psychic battle with a transdimensional spider made of endless orange light or a rhyme battle against an insane evil train across an apocalyptic wasteland works on the page but will never work on screen.

That's spot on. For me, King's best stuff isn't the horror itself, it's how he gets across the character's reactions to it. Like Ben realising Pennywise's balloon is floating against the wind, knowing that that isn't possible and his brain....locking as he's trying to process it. Same with the Buick in From A Buick 8. You could easily make a car that looks wrong but you can't quite get across the feel, etc, when you can't read the characters thoughts. Crouch End is another good one. The main characters know that something is wrong but it's so bizarre that they can't even understand it themselves.

On TV shows, it wasn't really an adaptation but I did like Castle Rock. 

Surely his reputation for toughness stems from his working hurt, etc, rather than how he’d do in a fight? Doing that Elimination Chamber match, as planned, after getting burned by his pyro was insane.

He is a bellend though. I think my biggest criticism of him is, that as the Locker Room Leader, he was responsible for just how toxic it was. Just a total bullying culture where people were getting beat up and harassed for even the most minor offences. Rene Dupree didn’t go out drinking once, because he wasn’t invited, so ‘Taker got the rest of them to destroy his clothes. He got the Hardys to vandalise Don Callis’ car too, because  Callis was a bit quiet. Then there’s the WCW Invasion….

He had enough respect that he could’ve stopped all of that that shite single handedly but he seemingly enjoyed it, probably because he was never going to be a target.

Aye. That ending made fuck all sense. The only thing I liked was the weird noise Lambert made when he was running out of the ring.

I really don't understand where they are going with this at all. I was into the idea of Sky, as a face, gradually splitting with American Top Team but they just scrapped that story and for what? A continuation of the awkward Heel vs Heel feud with Sammy and Tay? 

Load of shite.

Only just finished Dynamite.

I'd had the main event spoiled and was a bit disappointed when I read that there was another title change. It worked well actually watching it though. Sammy is a delightful heel and Tay did a good job too. The only jarring thing is that it technically means that Dan Lambert is a babyface. I assume that might get sorted with a Men of The Year split soon?

The above discussion reminds me of the abandoned storyline where Miro was "helping" Penelope Ford, because he still considers Kip his mate, and was oblivious about how terrified she was.

I love Miro. Hope he's back soon.

1 hour ago, Louch said:

Where has their been rumours about Moxley going back? Not seen that at all

He went to Corey Graves and Carmella’s wedding and people have, somehow, decided that means he’s going back to WWE.

Stranger things have happened, of course, but he’s not like Cody, who left to prove himself. Mox was an established top guy who hated WWE so much he left to go work Indys and Japan. AEW coming along was just a bonus. 

I’d be very surprised if he ever went back.

3 hours ago, Tommy! said:

I doubt it, but there's a first time for everything I suppose.

Fair point. I forgot who I was talking about there. “Surely he knows this isn’t going to work?” could have been said about pretty much any 1PW show.

I’m struggling to work out his end game here. Surely he knows that this isn’t going to work? There’s way too many people owed money from 1PW for him to just start using the trademarks and especially the video library again.

He might be gambling that no one will think it’s worth pursuing, I suppose, but that’s a big risk. I can’t imagine FITE will want to get involved in that sort of legal mind-fuck. One cease and desist will scrap the whole deal.

Of course, if he’s paid off the creditors and actually owns everything legit then it’s a different story. That doesn’t seem to be the case though, at least going by Danny Rodd’s tweet. 

My least favourite example of Triple H's politicking has to be the shitty pay off to the otherwise excellent Angle and Stephanie romance angle. The change benefited nobody, particularly the fans, but it did hurt Angle and that helped only Hunter, because Kurt with Steph, would've been a threat to his spot.

Similarly, Jericho and Stephanie having a purely business relationship in 2002 was shite as well. Them being a couple was such an obvious way to go and could've solidified Jericho as a top guy. Instead the feud basically became HHH vs Stephanie with Jericho carrying her bags and looking out of his depth. Again it benefited nobody.

Thinking about it though, The Authority might be the worst of the lot. He was semi-retired by that point, and well-established as an Executive. He had no spot to protect anymore but that's all the booking did: Underline that he was a PROPER star and no one else was on his level. Even Rollins, his supposed ally, would look like a total loser every time he was on screen with HHH and Steph. What was the point?

Bischoff gets the WWF announcers job in 1990 and doesn't go to WCW in 1991. He isn't there when Bill Watts leaves in 1993 so Jim Ross gets the job instead.

It changes everything doesn't it? No Bischoff means Hogan doesn't go to WCW, there's no Nitro, no NWO, no Cruiserweights, etc.

Just as importantly, if Ross took over WCW it would mean Austin and Foley would've stayed as well, and without Ross in charge of the WWF's talent relations, guys like The Rock, Angle, Lesnar, Orton and Cena might well have been undiscovered or at least wouldn't be the superstars they became. Does Cornette even go to the WWF and then OVW with Ross in WCW? Does Heyman stick with ECW?

I’m definitely looking forward to the fall out from this. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

The training school thing tickled me the most. It’s like a weird combination of Fight Club, the NJPW dojo and that armband thing Alex Shane was doing a few years ago. Why would any trained wrestler give up their established name and character and become a number just for the privilege of being trained by EC3??

Cody was in charge of Community relations in AEW. He basically used his personal Twitter account to help with his job, rather than deactivate it. He doesn’t do that job anymore so he’s taken it with him.

I don’t see a problem with it really, and I can’t imagine his former colleagues would either. It’d be a bit weird for them to continue using it when he’s not there.

If anything I think it’s shit that he got so much hate that he deactivated it in the first place. Regardless of his work, he does come off like a genuinely good guy.

Judging by his podcast, JR is just fucked off with the state of the wrestling business and his position in it. I can understand it, like, he was a big part of the last boom period and probably expected to be a WWE lifer. Instead he got sacked off for ridiculous reasons and he's back to being just an announcer, in the number 2 promotion, with no influence over anything.

He also comes off like one of those old timers who believes that their vision of wrestling is the only correct one and, if they don't care about something, then no one should. He said as much about criticism of his NJPW work. He was all "So I got some names wrong. Big deal. Who cares?" as NJPW was some tiny indy that was lucky to have him.

I think he'd benefit from some time away from wrestling. He comes off so bitter and defensive that it really can't be healthy for him.

I think him going back to WWE is the best move for everybody.

I like Cody but he's been toxic to AEW for a while. Things have felt so forced and awkward, which is a real departure from the rest of the show, where it's usually easy to suspend your disbelief. The fact that a thread like this even exists, for a supposedly top babyface, really says it all. The only way to fix things would be a heel turn and that's something he doesn't want to do.

WWE, on the other hand, could use the P.R and momentum of taking someone from AEW. I think they'll at least try and use him well too. He's not only second generation, which Vince loves but, when they didn't see him as a star before, he quit, went to the Indies and worked his way up to having his own reality TV shows. I've read loads of people say that Vince respects people who stand to him and say "Fuck you. You're wrong about me and I'm going to prove it". If that's anywhere being close to true, I could see him being a made man in Vince's eyes. At least for the moment.

It would be interesting to see if he works the Saudi shows.

That Brandi segment was awful on so many levels. The worst being that it was structured to make DAN LAMBERT a babyface, even though he’s (a) a heel in the World Title program and (b) a total dickhead.

It’s just so weird to have Brandi heeling it up and then the babyface spot is Lambert calling her a stripper. That sort of shit shouldn’t be getting cheered in 2022 but they put it in a spot where it was going to. 

10 hours ago, IronSheik said:

🤦‍♂️Yeah Benoit sounds like wrong 'ne, even before the horrific things he did at the end.

Aye. Even when he was in NJPW he'd piss in the Young Boys faces while they did press ups. Because he could. He used to randomly beat the shit out of Justin Roberts (also a cunt) in airports, hotels, etc, and then be "Hey man. How's your Dad?" He's also the one who turfed Miz out of the dressing room for eating chicken over a Ref's bag, though WWE retconned it to be JBL.

As talented as he is, I'd say Paul E deserves a mention as well. He seems to lie every time he opens his mouth, even when it's totally unnecessary. He convinced a lot of people in ECW to fuck up their bodies with promises that he'd make them stars, even though he knew full well that he couldn't even pay them half the time Then he declared bankruptcy and moved on with his life. Didn't even tell his wrestlers, just turned up on RAW.

He's your typical internet wrestling fan for me. Nice enough but deeply insecure and takes any criticism really really personally. If he'd posted on here, as opposed to F4W or wherever, he'd be one of those previously sound posters that has meltdown, tells us all to fuck off and demands that his account be deleted.

At this point, I'd say the good still outweighs the bad but he's on a slippery slope. It's crazy that there's so much good stuff happening in AEW right now and no one is talking about it, solely because of Tony Khan's sheer lack of professionalism and self-control.

20 minutes ago, Joe Blog said:

I feel maybe this has been a misfire on my part. 

It was a good idea and a really nice thought. I think it’s a lot easier to reach out informally to someone you “know”, or who is in a similar boat than a professional. There’s always the fear of shame there, even though it never happens

It’s not your fault that dickheads and wrong ‘uns exist, and would almost certainly ruin it.

Sky aside, UK TV's never really "got" what it had with wrestling eh?

Nitro was chucked in such a weird time slot, sandwiched between two different channels, both of which catered for totally niche audiences, neither of which included wrestling. It was never advertised, we never got any PPVs and it was cut down to an hour for the longest time. I can't remember it falling behind but I do remember them repeating an episode because they didn't get the latest tapes in time.

I'm sure Bravo just saw ECW as cheap filler for late at night, not realising that it was supposed to be episodic. I was really excited when it first came on but they just seemed to show the same random episodes over and over again. They were mostly from 1996, including a turd of a Shane Douglas vs Louis Spicolli match, but I do remember an amazing Psychosis vs Tajiri match from 2000 as well. They obviously had access to more recent stuff but just kept going "fuck it, this one will do".

Even NJPW stuff on Eurosport was pretty wank. I remember watching a Junior Heavyweight match and one of the Commentators spent the whole time just taking the piss. I'm sure it was Liger and Ultimo Dragon as well. It wasn't like it was some shitarses.

ITV4's treatment of AEW is just them following a tradition really.

3 hours ago, dopper said:

Weren't all three of his releases (2003, 2009, and 2021) all for that same reason?

2009 was his decision. His contract ran out and he wanted to take time off. He got busted for drug possession right after he left though. WWE had Punk take a shot at him about it on TV which is why Jeff went to TNA instead of going straight back.

13 minutes ago, chokeout said:

That whole story falls apart when it boils down to Steph overhearing Cena rapping on a bus during a tour. I am 90% certain that Steph has never seen the inside of the general talents tour bus and it's a classic case of someone taking an idea to her and her getting credited.

I mean, it's possible but even Cena tells the story that way, even adding in details like that she got him to do an impromptu rap about her tuna sandwich.

As much as he's very much a Company Man, I don't see why he'd lie about that. It also makes no sense for WWE to make up this story to give her credit, but never ever do it again.

A serious one: John Cena

The story that goes about is that Cena was going to get sacked when Steph heard him rapping and thought "We can make money from this guy".

There's a lot of stuff you can criticise about her time in Creative but that's one she does deserve credit for.

Multiple personalities for me. It was great when Foley did it, because he managed to establish distinct personalities without it feeling forced.

Nowadays, with a few exceptions, it just feels silly and contrived: “You might have beaten me but you haven’t beaten me with a bit of make up or a mask on!”

The worst lately was Mickie James referring to “Hardcore Country Mickie James” in the third person as if there’s anything remotely different to her normal persona. At least Bray Wyatt put a bit of effort in. 

I'm fully confident that Hangman is going to win. I'm just praying that he'll get to celebrate his win and Miro won't just murder him immediately afterwards.

It would fit both their characters, and transition into a new feud comfortably, but, fuck, I really want to see the Cowboy get his moment.

Politics, race and religion are things that really should be left out of wrestling. It's just uncomfortable viewing and must be incredibly awkward for the crowd in attendance. Imagine being gay, listening to a heel make homophobic remarks and the people around you cheer? Fuck that.

I'd imagine it'd cause a lot of problems with advertisers, networks etc, as well. That kind of cheap heat doesn't go on the heel anymore, and hasn't for at least a decade, it goes on the companies that are making money from it. 

22 hours ago, Vamp said:

Am I the only one who would have pretty much booked him as they did? Not saying it wasn't shit, but they popped a big rating for his first TV appearance and they gave Hogan his win back (which is what it was all about anyway). Then he fucked off.

What else are you going to do with him? He's not putting anyone over, you can't trust him on the stick and he was exposed in the Hogan match anyway. 

A feud with Sting is fun fantasy booking but in real life you're just spending more time dealing with a maniac.

Aye. I'd agree with this. If anything else that debut promo, where he ignored instructions and went massively over time, must've made it clear that it wasn't going to be a long-term thing. You can't really build anything around a guy who is just going to do what the fuck he likes anyway.

1 hour ago, 69MeDon said:

If you're looking for a nutjob, who also happens to be strong on killing refugees in the Channel - a real vote winner with the Tory base - may I suggest Priti Patel? I realise she's not white, but she's one of the good ones!

Oh no. I'm not suggesting they actually WANT a nutjob. The idea is that they'll really want Sunak but aren't naïve but their membership, particularly after the influx of UKIP/BNP folk in recent years. I think they'll make sure to eliminate anybody else that's remotely credible and put him against a relatively obscure weirdo like Christopher Chope, who'll then win.

Sort of like the evil, racist version of the Labour leadership election where they were all "Ha! Corbyn's running. What a joke! Surely our members won't vote for a left wing candidate?"

1 hour ago, Keith Houchen said:

Plus there’s the big difference between a parliamentary democracy and a presidential democracy. Johnson clearly wants the latter, I mean he talked about wage rises and making out how he was responsible for the first rise in ten years. Who has been in government for those ten years? Trump can separate himself from the GOP with ease as his fans can vote for his candidacy directly, whereas Johnson is dependent on the Tory vote for power. 

That's a good point. Johnson needs to satisfy the Tory MPs but, in America, the GOP need to satisfy Trump. They are well aware that a Trump endorsement in the Primaries could be the difference between them keeping their nomination or not. That's why so many of them continue to back him even after he set a fucking mob on them.