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There is no way that is 1996
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Would've been sometime in 97, and I'll assume that was a signing and not just a bunch of people bombarding them while they eat.
Damn she was jacked up
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Might of been summer of 97. They did a show here and bret hart was the headliner. And yes it was a promotion at hooters.
It was awkward that Chyna did the playboy spread only a couple years after that.Comment
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She started dating Triple H in '96 sometime, so its possibly '96. Not sure if she quite that big back in '96, though.Comment
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Observer is reporting that WWE, ROH, TNA, New Japan, & AAA are in an old school bidding war of sorts over Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly.
This is like vindication for me, as I was on the Fish bandwagon going all the way back to 2006 on MM when Fish & Eddie Edwards were an opening match jobber team on the Boston/Edison/Philly ROH shows. To me the potential of both guys as workers was obvious, and the NOAH tours over the years have really helped Fish refine his in ring, but his leaps in personality over the last year with his Marc Maron/hipster routine really came out of nowhere. I can't say I ever pegged him as a charisma machine.Comment
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Catching up on random recent shit.
-Did Ibushi get hurt in his match against KUSHIDA? That match, which should have been awesome...was not...dude looked out it.
-TNA has awful writing and show preparation. The idea of taping all of these shows in order and then constructing good shows with the footage is lost on this company. They cut matches short, they don't allow things to breathe, and as a result, fill a show with a ton of shitty backstage shit to string along the two hours they have to fill.
One thing they seemingly got right with the last batch of tapings...they got wrestlers to work the shows that aren't contractually obligated to TNA. Just quick pay, one-offs...and they'll be able to make it look like they have these guys for like two months. Makes the roster look bigger, too.
They need to make matches longer, and stop trying to fit everyone into one show.
-NXT hasn't been good. Lots of junk filler. I did like Neville-RVD and Gabriel-Zayn though. WWE needs to use the Gabriels and Kidds of the world in just this way. Keep them in Florida, use them as gatekeepers.
Am I the only one that thinks Enzo-Big Cass have one of the brighter futures of anyone in NXT right now outside of Zayn? Enzo can talk and oozes charisma unlike most on that level right now...can't work for shit...but he is undercard for life anyway. I have no idea why I like Big Cass...but I do. I want him to do well, despite his chronic chest acne.Comment
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I've been very critical of the goofy destined for the undercard acts that NXT is churning out. Some weeks feels like Wrestling is Full Sail with all of the Chikara level garbage. But the Tyson Kidd stuff has been tremendous, and is currently the most compelling thing happening in the company aside from the rise of Rusev & Dean Ambrose (despite the gimmick ripped from The Outsiders. Waiting for Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, and Soda Pop to accompany him to ringside).
Kidd's storyline would have no room to breath on RAW. And the shitty commentary would completely smother it with the subtlety hammer. It's clearly been Vince & Kevin Dunn free, and it shows. Hopefully The Ascension get called up, because I think NXT could have some hot tag matches centered around a heel Kidd/Gabriel team.Comment
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I get the feeling Kidd is loving working in Orlando. He is on a TV show and is featured weekly with a story that has nuts that he can get himself into.
Tons of the NXT talents have some nowheresville gimmicks for sure. I don't mind developing undercard gimmicks...the WWE really doesn't even have an "undercard"...RAW is all high-mid card and up...Smackdown is mid-card and up...I guess Superstars and Main Event is the true undercard, but they often have a ton of mid-card guys there. The undercard talent they do have...they barely use...barely have any character development...maybe having some developed undercard talents wouldn't be a bad thing. I don't see most of these guys getting past a certain point though. Maybe some have one hot run in them...maybe not.Comment
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I worked a solid NXT rant into my Superstars review last week: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/201...rs-272-review/Comment
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I think everyone except TNA knew it would be a mistake to take Impact on the road. It made matters worse when it failed, and Universal already booked their studios again. You had a good size crowd show up at Impact, and most would probably attend if you charged double the price to get in.
I also read where Bully Ray was in an interview, and he said he would jump back to WWE immediately if Vince called him. I am not sure what history he has with Vince to determine if that's likely to happen, but that comes at a worse time when places are reporting he is one of the most influential guys backstage.
I did like the Big Cass and Enzo segments. That was my first exposure to Enzo, and I'm a fan.
Speaking of the goofy NXT undercard acts you and Warner are referencing, is it possible they are developing those because of more potential cuts? It makes sense, because those guys clearly aren't making the money that the guys like Santino are making, especially if they've been around for any length of time.Comment
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They've gotten great, pretty hot crowds in Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York as well as London...I don't know what their financials are on these deals, but the crowds are refreshing to see for a TNA event. If they work out financially do to 2 months worth of tapings over the course of three days at different wrestling hotbeds, it sure beats the Impact Zone, IMO.
My gripe really is with how they piece together these shows in post production as well as how they plan their shows out while they are taping. If you've got 10 hours of TV you need to piece together and you need to do it over the course three days of television taping...I would just assume you should maximize the time you have and the talent you have at your disposal at a given time.
TNA has a pretty small roster at this point. So, bring in some local or old TNA talent for one-offs. They seemed to do this for the NYC tapings...good for them. Keeps funds cheap, gives you the guise of a larger roster, and you can diversify yourself on TV. Also, maximize match length. TNA has a small roster, they use some short-term talent...use these guys to put on longer format matches. All of these short matches they have on TV make it so they need to put together a ton of backstage bullshit to end up piecing together a two hour TV show every week. Give some of those matches 5-7 more minutes, fill out the segments.
Since they tape in batches, you can limit how many times you see the contracted talent. Especially the main eventers. I don't want/need to see Bobby Roode, MVP, Lashley, Eric Young every.single.week. Give shit time to breath.
It seems like they definitely do not plan things out with any kind of foresight...not even a little.
The gimmicks get great reaction at Full Sail...but Full Sail is full of people that are there every.single.taping...they also travel around and see the NXT House Shows. They are marks for this talent...and they give the desired reaction for everything. So, everyone "seems" over. That doesn't translate to the big shows. Most of which, the fans in those arenas, aren't familiar with these guys before they debut. They expect the BO-LIEVE shit to ironically get over like it did at Full Sail, in front of the live crowd. Same with Adam Rose. You'll see the same thing when Tyler Breeze gets called up. Doesn't work like that...so they've got a ton of gimmicks that are small time acts that probably won't get over enough to be anything other than curtain jerking.I did like the Big Cass and Enzo segments. That was my first exposure to Enzo, and I'm a fan.
Speaking of the goofy NXT undercard acts you and Warner are referencing, is it possible they are developing those because of more potential cuts? It makes sense, because those guys clearly aren't making the money that the guys like Santino are making, especially if they've been around for any length of time.Comment
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Sure, the Impact Zone sucked, but they made a big deal about having a live show, which I enjoyed and thought that was at their peak during BFG 2012. You are certainly correct that they have no foresight, and that included taking Impact on the road as a live event expecting huge crowds.
Adam Rose is in Vince's doghouse- apparently his match against Sandow was to see what reaction he got during a match. It bombed, but the match had almost no build, how was he supposed to do better? I agree that the gimmick is poor, but the WWE is doing no favors with it either. The Bo-lieve stuff could be hilarious if they gave him a submission as a finisher and he was "mic'd up" so you could hear him talking to the wrestler trying to talk him out of tapping out. Otherwise, I have no use for the gimmick.
Though I reiterate, there is always a need for curtain jerkers, and if the NXT guys get paid less than the guys who have been around for a few years, they are likely going to make cuts.Comment
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If the plan is for Brock Lesnar to win the title at SummerSlam, and then drop it to Reigns at Wrestlemania, how do they plan on doing that? They have to pay him extra for dates, and if they are so concerned with budget cuts, that doesn't make sense to me.Comment
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Good question... they'd probably negotiate more dates so be could do some house shows (??) and TV.
They could always use Cesaro in his place for some time with the Heyman connection.
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