The Gaffer Posted July 7 Posted July 7 (edited) @Supremo's going to come back doing that weird Jericho gimmick where he didn't say anything and just smiled and waved at everyone. Edit: Beat me to it! Edited July 7 by The Gaffer Quote
Paid Members RedTwoster Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 This whole thing feels a bit...sad. It's pretty much entirely because of the fact Sami Zayn was allegedly asked to take a 50% pay cut, and did. He clearly likes working for WWE, and has a lot of friends in the company - I can understand why he wanted to stay, but it makes the whole thing feel even more depressing than it already would have. It's genuinely difficult to think of bad things Zayn has been involved in during his time with WWE, and pretty much everything he touches turns to gold. He was arguably the reason the Bloodline story - their most successful ever - took off in the way it did. He somehow managed to carry Johnny Knoxville to one of the most entertaining Wrestlemania matches ever. He ended Gunther's historic IC title run in a moment that felt genuinely special. And they see so little value in all of that they drastically cut his pay, and give him the chance to hold the WWE title for a few days? Even if they go all in on him and he wins it back, it all feels very unfair. Quote
DavidB6937 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 39 minutes ago, RedTwoster said: Even if they go all in on him and he wins it back, it all feels very unfair. There's so much I want to know about how this has all come together backstage. What were the issues with Punk? Was Sami always planned to have a title win or did they have to work that in somehow during all this Punk stuff? How does Punk feel about it all? Because to me they might as well have had Cody come out all beaten up, lose because someone threw something in his eye, and then Punk beats Sami for the title. Only he's not his hero in that scenario is he. Maybe he's going for an anti-Bret vibe now. Wonder who he'll kick in the head. Quote
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 1 hour ago, RedTwoster said: He was arguably the reason the Bloodline story - their most successful ever Did the Mega Powers not explode then? 😵💫 Quote
d-d-d-dAz Posted July 7 Posted July 7 17 minutes ago, Chili said: Viral moments, don't think too hard etc etc What I would say is, the viral moment was Sami winning the title. What they did last night was reset to their 'normal'. I like Sami and this isn't a reflection of his talent, but he's not a Summerslam stadium main eventer in their world and they haven't got the time to change that between now and the event. They could have ploughed on with Sami as Champion in the undercard, and had something like Punk/Cody in the main event without the title; or they could do what they did. My issue is less that they've taken the title off Sami, more that over many years they've not acknowledged his potential and put the work in to get him to that level AND that, despite that, they've put the title on him ahead of the second biggest event of the year solely to get a viral moment out of it. Quote
Paid Members gmoney Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 1 hour ago, RedTwoster said: It's pretty much entirely because of the fact Sami Zayn was allegedly asked to take a 50% pay cut, and did. Wow, is that true? What a fucking mug. Quote
Paid Members LaGoosh Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 (edited) I wonder if Kevin Owens a pay cut too? You'd imagine they probably asked him to. Edited July 7 by LaGoosh Quote
Paid Members RedTwoster Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 51 minutes ago, gmoney said: Wow, is that true? What a fucking mug. Sean Oliver and Kevin Nash outed him as being the person in question on their podcast. They may be talking nonsense, but I suppose it does add up with the suggestion it was someone who could have jumped to AEW and made a lot more money. Quote
Paid Members gmoney Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 I should clarify, I don't think someone's a mug for taking less money staying somewhere they're more comfortable and think they'll be happier. But to take a huge pay cut to stay in such a poisonous company, who historically haven't exactly thought of you as a top guy, is very muggy. Quote
Paid Members RedTwoster Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 2 minutes ago, gmoney said: I should clarify, I don't think someone's a mug for taking less money staying somewhere they're more comfortable and think they'll be happier. But to take a huge pay cut to stay in such a poisonous company, who historically haven't exactly thought of you as a top guy, is very muggy. I can kind of understand it, when you see the deep friendships he seems to have; particularly with Owens and Becky Lynch. The prospect of losing that presumably isn't something he'd relish. But it's such an odd situation - if his value to the company had decreased that would be one thing, but he's in as prominent a position as he's ever been. It's a real 'less money to do more' type situation. If this is correct, I wish he'd left the company just out of principle. If this approach actually works, they'll keep doing it providing they retain enough in the way of top wrestlers. Quote
Paid Members mim731 Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 11 minutes ago, RedTwoster said: Sean Oliver and Kevin Nash outed him as being the person in question on their podcast. I'm not saying they're wrong, and it sounds plausible enough, but I would still definitely take anything those two say with a pinch of salt. Quote
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 (edited) On 6/30/2026 at 9:33 AM, Supremo said: Like Survivor Series when Punk came back! When we were hot! Remember?! REMEMBER?! I don’t know where these cynical dickheads get off suggesting WWE is allergic to new ideas and exists primarily as a Nostalgia Bait Factory. Where is the evidence?! On the plus side, at least Punk’s fridge is stocked much healthier now he’s married. CM Punk had inflatable furniture before meeting AJ. Pass it on. Fascinating state of affairs. I’m starting to think those news stories about how everything was totally fine between Punk and WWE might have been untrue and planted. Felt like all we saw the last few weeks was how the tension between Punk and WWE was, “overblown,” and how he actually wanted to lose clean to Roman. Nothing to see here, folks. And then despite three months of unexplained time off, he turns up actually looking a bit shit, with Grumpy Dry Hair™ and is immediately given the top title on his first night back, in his home town. Everything’s completely fine is it, lads? Chinny reckon. As sad as I am that Sami’s reign ended so abruptly, I won’t complain too much, because the way in which you can see the backstage politics of lads like Roman, Punk and Cody seep into the on-screen product has quickly became the best thing about WWE television. Pushes like Oba Femi getting quietly paused. Roman opting to mogg Seth rather than do the natural job to Femi at Summerslam. Sami now so obviously existing as a transitional champion to get the belt on Punk to cheer him up without upsetting Cody. The gap has never been clearer or wider between the Main Event Dick Swingers and the Pay Cut Posse. No wonder Punk wore the Bret Hart gear. For the first time in forever, we finally feel like we’ve moved on from the Gratitude Era and returned to a time when the top stars actually know their worth. Bonus thoughts; - My head nearly fell off when Paul Heyman mentioned Brock Lesnar had beaten The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell twice. I had zero recollection of their second one. I’m still half convinced Heyman himself has edited Wikipedia just to wind me up. Absolute Gragrela Effect. Need a pack of Cheese and Onion to calm down. - I was so bored during The Vision vs. Street Profits match that I did some research into when the last time the WWE Ttitle was defended on Raw. I might be wrong, but it appears to be Big E vs. Austin Theory in Nov 2021. Ironic that we’re all these years removed and we’re still suffering through rubbish Austin Theory pushes that are always destined to fail. Guaranteed that him being scripted to be shagging Maxxine Dupri will be the next attempt to get him over that’ll bomb. Completely inauthentic and unrealistic. She’s far too old for him. - If anyone can bounce back from being such an obvious pawn in a game of politics, it’s Sami. He should make a montage of all the best bits of his nine day title reign. Maybe Sami and Owens can eventually feud with Punk and Cody. Punk vs. Owens still feels like the closest thing they’ll ever get to Punk vs. Kingston. - Nothing more tragic than watching Seth deliver that exposition dump to crickets in the opening segment. They’d never ask Roman to do that. This Seth vs. Roman thing is great not just because it drills into Shield lore and The Shield ruled, but because the gulf between how much it means to both lads is hilarious. Both in character and on a meta level, this is the biggest thing Seth has going for him, whereas for Roman it’s just someone to no-sell and roll his eyes at to avoid doing a real job to Oba Femi. Remember Seth and Roman’s Royal Rumble match, when Seth came out in The Shield gear, to their old music, and Roman sold anger? In 2026, I bet he’d just laugh. Edited July 7 by Supremo Quote
Paid Members mim731 Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 7 minutes ago, Supremo said: On the plus side, at least Punk’s fridge is stocked much healthier now he’s married. CM Punk had inflatable furniture before meeting AJ. Pass it on. I saw the brown bag in the fridge and immediately thought "someone's been off to see Dr Zahorian. Get the Winstrol in!" Quote
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