Billie Kay and Mickie James released (+ others)

[Supremo]

I’d be extremely shocked if NXT UK, “brings in some extra money.”

[tiger_rick]

3 minutes ago, The Dart said:

If you mean Jeet Rama, his TV debut was the Indian show, which was after 5 years in the PC, but he had 4 more TV matches after that.

He was on NXT on Tuesday losing a squash match.

[BomberPat]

The story is that four of them were released as they wouldn't take the vaccine - coming off a Saudi show and heading into a UK tour, that makes a fair bit of sense. Nia's been named, and I would suspect Kross and Scarlett are the other two. There's some NXT names released that I've never even heard of, so the fourth could be any of them, really. Or it could be Harry Smith - I know he's not been on TV at all since they signed him, but you'd think he'd have been a no-brainer for the UK dates.

There's been a real marked shift since the last batch of the releases, though, in terms of feeling optimistic about these people. We've only just passed the 90 day no compete period for the wrestlers released in July, and Bray Wyatt is still yet to show up somewhere, and from the June/July releases nobody's picked up Braun Strowman, Big Damo, The Bollywood Boys, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, or Lana. There plenty of NXT and 205 Live releases in the mix too, and another round of NXT releases in August. 

So now there's another round of releases, but the game's changed pretty significantly - AEW have Bryan Danielson and CM Punk, so the notion of what a potential "top guy" there could look like has likely been shifted pretty substantially, so that just being any old ex-WWE name won't cut it, if it ever would have done. ROH is, if not done, not going to be in the business of signing anyone to contracts until at least April, and likely won't be after that. NJPW is creatively dead in the water, and has no momentum whatsoever. I don't know how inclined Impact are going to be to bring in more names now that they're past Slammiversary and Bound For Glory and, again, don't have quite the momentum they had earlier in the year. 

I can see AEW picking up Keith Lee, Mia Yim and Ember Moon, and all would have a lot to offer that roster. The latter two because having more talented and experienced women in that division is always a positive, and Keith because his natural charisma will be better showcased in AEW than in the more controlled environment of WWE, and because in a roster relatively deprived of big men (and especially babyface big men), he'll look an absolute monster. 

I don't see AEW going for Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, or Scarlett - I can't really see where they might show up. Nia to Impact, maybe, but with no pre-WWE experience maybe she just decides she's done with wrestling. Karrion and Scarlett have apparently burned some bridges with Impact, not sure how well liked they'd be in AEW (and don't think they have anything to offer there), and while they were a big deal in AAA, AAA no longer having any US streaming content probably makes that a far less appealing proposition for outsiders than it used to be. Same goes for Taya Valkyrie, though could see AEW picking her up.

I hope AEW sign Gran Metalik - he had such an underwhelming run in WWE that I don't think he can walk back into a lucha promotion as a top star straight away, but he would be a great singles attraction as a token luchadore in an American company. I know Bryan Danielson really wants to work with him.

[Perry]

So they've finally got shot of Nia. Surely AEW would have no interest in signing her up, she a fucking hazard in the ring.

[Merzbow]

There is talk of MLW signing people but they themselves have been letting people go, and the last I saw their viewership was down the toilet and their Vice special drew fuck all even after the Dark Side lead in.

[Snitsky's back acne]

16 minutes ago, Perry said:

So they've finally got shot of Nia. Surely AEW would have no interest in signing her up, she a fucking hazard in the ring.

Sounds like she'd be perfect.

Didnt know about Kross' social media posts but, yeah, if the whole 'Scarlett/Don Callis' thing is true then AEW is a no go. 

Crazy (and interesting) times.

[LCJ]

How can you fuck up Karrion Kross and Keith Lee on the main roster? And not even use Scarlett? Vince is the problem. He used to be brilliant but he isn’t anymore. I said he should’ve retired years ago but he’s there until he dies. I realise the company are making record profits but they’re not doing that by drawing new fans. They’ve done it from their established legacy with the Fox, Peacock and the Saudi deals. I’m guessing it was Nick Khan who struck those deals anyway. Ratings and live attendances are in the toilet because WWE as a product is crap. A fraction of people are watching now compared to twenty years ago. More wasted potential. This will happen every year. They deserve a boycott. Bellends.

[Keith Houchen]

5 minutes ago, LCJ said:

I realise the company are making record profits

That’s the whole point of being a promoter. He’s the most successful promoter of all time, I think it’s safe to say he knows exactly what he’s doing and won’t heed the advice being put forward in this thread. 

[LCJ]

2 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

That’s the whole point of being a promoter. He’s the most successful promoter of all time, I think it’s safe to say he knows exactly what he’s doing and won’t heed the advice being put forward in this thread. 

I realise that. Meanwhile, new stars can’t break through to main event level, viewers continue to switch off and attendances continue to drop. The big money deals have given WWE an excuse to continue to churn out a very poor product and get away with it. It’s like they’re not even trying anymore.

[Keith Houchen]

11 minutes ago, LCJ said:

I realise that. Meanwhile, new stars can’t break through to main event level, viewers continue to switch off and attendances continue to drop. The big money deals have given WWE an excuse to continue to churn out a very poor product and get away with it. It’s like they’re not even trying anymore.

Or maybe, just maybe, the man who revolutionised the industry by being ahead of the curve knows which revenue streams to pursue and which ones are on the way out?  
 

The fact is, we don’t know how to run the most successful wrestling company ever, he does. All we are doing is guesswork and speculation. Look at the ones released for not getting vaccinated, before that info came to light it was all “He don’t know what he’s doing, imagine releasing them” but it’s good business sense to do so. 
 

You’re right they need a boycott. But if your reason for boycotting is they released a bunch of wrestlers you like and not the murders rapes and assault cover ups or the abhorrent business practices, then you’re the reason they keep coining it in. 

Edited November 5, 2021 by Keith Houchen

[tiger_rick]

19 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

That’s the whole point of being a promoter. He’s the most successful promoter of all time, I think it’s safe to say he knows exactly what he’s doing and won’t heed the advice being put forward in this thread. 

Always the voice of reason. This is absolutely true. Cunt? Yes. Stupid? No.

There was some interesting stuff from the quarterly business update yesterday too. Raw and Smackdown ratings are up year on year. That's kind of obvious, because last year was shite but it's the sort of spin they put out brilliantly and the sort of thing that drives business and share price.

They're drawing some poor attendances in some markets, and in some where AEW are demonstrably doing better but again, their revenue this quarter is up because of live ticket sales and it's because of the return to touring. So while they're not as popular as they were, through sheer volume of product and shows, they're very profitable.

Edited November 5, 2021 by tiger_rick

[Keith Houchen]

1 minute ago, tiger_rick said:

Cunt? Yes

Totally. I despise the bloke and want to clarify I’m not going to bat for him. He clearly knows what he’s doing and like all industry leaders, the sociopathic ruthlessness is why they’re industry leaders. 

[Supremo]

1 hour ago, LCJ said:

How can you fuck up Karrion Kross and Keith Lee on the main roster?

Genuine question - how do you think Karrion Kross could have been used, “properly,” in order to make him succeed on the main roster?

They threw everything at him in NXT. All the smoke and mirrors, featured matches with the best workers, undefeated streak, main event run, World Title, and he was still dull as fuck, an average worker, a piss poor promo, and clearly the worst champion they’d ever had. Looked shit in a suit, too.

If anything is surprising about Kross’ run in WWE it’s that they didn’t bin him off sooner and that they thought it was best to split him up with Scarlett and use him whilst she stayed at home, rather than the other way around.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Supremo

[LCJ]

6 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Genuine question - how do you think Karrion Kross could have been used, “properly,” in order to make him succeed on the main roster?

Start by not making him wear a skirt, allow Scarlett to accompany him, give him his proper entrance that he used in NXT and not wear that gimp mask. And maybe not jobbing him in his first main roster match on Raw. Just a few thoughts.

Edited November 5, 2021 by LCJ

[stewdogg]

I don't get the Keith Lee love, he is basically a black version of me. Morbidly obese with a huge gut, looks tired constantly and looks like he could drop down of a heart attack at any time. I don't wear spandex but I'm sure I'd look as stupid as he does in it. He doesn't look like he could beat you up, or intimidating in the slightest, any decent fighter would just dance around him and stay away from his stupid pounce thing.