Burgundy LaRue

When she returned, they briefly mentioned the Loser Leaves WWE match with Mandy Rose. Sonya wasn't eligible to wrestle, so they gave her a job as co-authority to Adam Pearce. It's morphed into what we see now. They haven't given an explanation as to why she hates Naomi, other than she doesn't think Naomi is good enough (which can be taken a couple of ways if they don't give a firm answer). Presumably, this ends with a Naomi-Sonya match. But yeah, they're dragging it out and it's lost all its steam.

Swole is a Black woman in America who didn't grow up with a billionaire father. Who's dismissing who here?

Honest answer? USA/NBC Universal and WWE shareholders. Because from the looks of it, he and Roman are the only two ratings movers WWE currently have. And FOX isn't letting go of Roman. I'm pretty sure that Vince/Nick Khan will begin talks later this year for new TV deals for 2024. So drive up the stock/value now going into WM with Brock as one of your big champs.

Fair enough. But I don't think she was framing it as a personal problem so much as some firmer guidelines need to be in place for younger/less experienced wrestlers who haven't yet developed the skills of how to pitch ideas or know how to get themselves on TV. Because while many fans may enjoy the carefree approach, I can see where it would be tough sledding for a new wrestler, unless they have a mentorship-type setup to help them navigate.

First, you're diagnosing Tony as on the spectrum. You have no clue about that. Even if he is, that doesn't excuse his social media boo-hoo (which he does often BTW), because he knew he find like-minded fans who would validate him. Tony Khan is 39 years old with endless financial resources. He has a multitude of options to have approached this like a professional AND functioning adult. He chose otherwise. The pacifying of grown men to justify bad behavior is disgusting. I don't care that he used to post around here and some of you think he's cool. He's being a jerk in this situation. Second, you're trying to rationalize this with your White male eyes. Which happens a lot on wrestling. And you did mention that, so points for self-awareness. But I wonder if one day, you and others will ever listen to a Black woman's perspective on such topics. To this point--and I've been here for years--the answer has been no. But I'll give part of my take here, all the same: Swole gave her opinions and feelings on certain things in AEW. There are valid, regardless of whether you think she's a bad wrestler. At no point did she personally attack Tony. She came closer to insulting Brandi on the 'no Black voices in upper management' bit. But after seeing some of her promos, I can't imagine Swole and Brandi seeing eye-to-eye on much. The idea that some are suggesting--that Swole shouldn't have aired her troubles publicly--is a laugh considering how many salivate at Talk is Jericho or Renee Paquette 'wrestler tells all' shows and shoot interviews in previous years. Just because you don't agree or think she stinks at her job doesn't make her feelings lesser than or means she should be quiet to play nice. But you seem to be leaning that way because you're not giving her POV value. In essence, what Swole said is 1) AEW needs to improve in overall respresentation and giving women the same chances as men, 2) There needs to be more structure from a creative standpoint to help younger wrestlers or those new to TV who may need more help with the process, 3) The time AEW has for its shows needs to be better arranged to give wrestlers meaningful matches, and 4) AEW is a solid promotion and wishing them well. You would think she spit on someone's grave by some of the reactions. And as a Black woman who's watched and talked about wrestling for a while, I've seen those same statements from others. She's not alone in thinking this way. But I can't help but ask if her being a Black woman with the audacity to speak her peace out loud is the issue here. Again, I point to you saying she's bad at her job. So what? What does that have to do with what she's speaking about? She didn't even frame the conversation around herself. She was talking about AEW's environment as a whole. But you--and many more--have used the moment to belittle what you think is her lack of wrestling abilities and ignore her concerns. You decided that what she said has no value because you don't like how she does a headlock or cuts a promo. You, along with Tony, make it personal instead of tackling the real issues she mentioned. And why is that? Because you don't know how? Or you simply don't want to know? Until you and others can put down your bias and tendency to downplay others whose voice doesn't amplify yours, we'll keep having conversations like this where we point fingers and nothing worth holding is accomplished. And we'll accuse each other of things that aren't true and we'll get mad but then make up and play nice until the cycle begins again. Frankly, the bicycle is on flats and I'm tired of pedaling for those who say they listen and care and appreciate my take but show otherwise. That's not against you directly, just me saying my peace out loud.

And yet, you did.

The guy was apparently catfished by someone pretending to be Rollins and got swindled out of some money, it seems. Looks like he thinks he's part of the Samoan Dynasty, too. He was wearing a Bloodline shirt last night. So mental illness is on the table.

That so many seem to be analyzing Rollins' fighting technique more than worrying about him being ambushed and whether the 'fan' had a weapon--that mindset isn't much better than a rail jumper.

The most a wrestler could ask for is a no-cut clause. Say they sign a 4-year deal. MAYBE they can ask for writing that guarantees they'll be kept for 2 years without risk of release. But they're unlikely to get it. Perhaps someone like Reigns, Orton or Becky can pull it off (Roman and Becky have Hollywood agents who surely look over their deals for them and can ask for some assurances even if not that direct clause). But they're not at risk of getting cut, anyway. The ones who need the protection aren't in a position to ask for it.

I hold no allusions about Vince McMahon being a good person. He clearly isn't. Anyone who's paid more than 5 minutes of attention to WWE in the past 35 years can attest to that. Throw a dart, you'll hit something dark and nasty every time. He's dirty and he runs a dirty operation, clear as day. And you haven't seen bad intentions until you work in a school district for a couple of years. Weirdest place I've ever collected a check from, with some of the worst people. But the idea of WWE going under doesn't seem realistic. They have four separate billion-dollar deals. I know, mentioning money here. But it's true. They bring in record revenue seemingly every quarter. For his heart of darkness, Vince has played the capitalist card well. Having a black heart is why he's good at it, granted. Even if things goes sideways--WWE sells for a nice sum and sails into the sunset. Monetary wise, Vince has made sure he'll win the game. It's partly why N. Khan was brought in, make sure the books are clean for the new owner if Vince finally decides to cash out. Along with increasing quarterly dividends and shaking down sponsorships from whoever alongside Stephanie. Will wrestlers and non-executive employees suffer? Absolutely. They'll get no golden parachute, and with no WWE, the American wrestling scene at large can't support an influx of talent that large at one time. Which is something else Vince counts on: WWE being too big to fail. I don't think anyone looks at WWE through rose-colored glasses. I certainly don't. But if it feels that I or someone else brings up the corporate angle too much, it's because there's merit to it, though we all recognize how screwed up it is.

Nia posted on her IG that she asked for a mental health break in September, which WWE supported. She was scheduled to return on November 15, but she didn't feel ready and asked for an extension. She got released right after. She thinks it was a late decision with bad communication where certain office didn't talk to each other about what they were supposed to do, I'm gathering. I also gather that she isn't vaccinated, so there's also that.

No argument there. But no billionaire got to that point by being remotely nice. It's clear that Nick Khan's approach is a combination of sports analytics and golden-age Hollywood studio play. The executives control everything, even more than usual. They want moldable talent to make into stars specific to WWE's wants/needs. They choose who is moldable. They will create every detail of a wrestler's persona. And if you pass their test, you'll be successful and make good money. But if you fall short of expectations, they sweep you out and find someone younger and more pliable. They're creating a 3-tier system: the core group of bankable stars (around 6-8 wrestlers at any given time), a secondary group who may grow into superstardom but will be good B-listers if not, and everyone else is a bit player in the act. And honestly, that's not the worst concept to have. It's a diluted version of Marvel, in a way. But because Hunter (with Vince's approval) hoarded so much talent over the past 5-6 years, the bloodletting to achieve that concept is nasty work.

Ryker has a military background. It's his only attribute at this point. But Montez Ford is right there as former military with a lot more upside. So who knows. The anti-vaccination story holds water. Several of the rumored anti-vaxxers were on RAW--away from two-time cancer survivor Roman Reigns. And if they can't travel outside the USA or even perform in bigger American cities because of the rules coming in, they're not of much value to WWE. As for the releases. . . Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado asked to be let go, which is understandable. They didn't even get drafted and barely got used as a jobber team in recent months. Oney Lorcan went as far as he could in NXT/WWE. He wouldn't have made it to the main roster. I suspect a similar thought was put in with Trey Baxter, though he had been there for a shorter time. I don't recall anything about Jeet Rama and Harry Smith was barely used. Katrina Cortez and Zayda Ramier have upside, but the writing was on the wall when Amari Miller and Valentina Feroz started getting featured on 205 Live and they didn't. Jessi Kamea had been around longer than most realized. She's decent in the ring with a good look, but as far as tall brunettes go in NXT, Indi Hartwell is more athletic and the stronger on-screen presence. And once Aliyah got called up, it left Jessi in a void. I think Eva Marie came back for a quick payday before going back to Hollywood to do VOD movies with Bruce Willis. Ember Moon was always a weird fit for WWE. Incredible in the ring, but she had that odd feud with Bayley that fell flat. Once Shotzi got called up, NXT had nothing for her. And they didn't figure out who she was supposed to be--werewolf, forest goddess? They couldn't ever get it right. Franky Monet shouldn't have ever been in NXT. She should have been straight to the main roster. She can wrestle, she has the character work down cold, can talk and has a different look from the other women. Putting her in NXT was a waste of time. B-Fab is a headscratcher. Her two matches weren't anything to write home about, but they had her and the rest of Hit Row interacting with New Day last week, which is usually a good sign. And she supposedly signed a new deal within the last 7-10 days. Nia is 37 with bad knees and a creaky back stemming from when she and Rock's mom got t-boned in a bad car accident years ago. Her days as a singles star were at their end, and they broke up her tag team with Shayna Baszler. Throw in the possible anti-vax stuff, and that's that. Still something of a surprise but I also get it, if that makes sense. Karrion Kross was dead in the water as soon as Adam Cole blistered him in a promo. Cole peeled away every layer of Kross's façade and the guy was left looking ordinary. Didn't help that he got verbally worked over by everyone in the NXT title scene at the time, either. He didn't have the size/look to stand out next to WWE's larger main event guys. Scarlett could have been something, but she wasn't going to be a happy camper without Kross, so she goes, too. The rental gimp costume had to be a rib by someone who didn't like him and wanted to get a laugh out of Vince. As for Keith Lee and Mia Yim--I don't know. I get the feeling he was liked well enough when he first went to RAW, but I remember him nearly breaking his neck on an over the top rope flip. He got sent to the big guy NXT class after that and from there, it was all downhill. He gets COVID, then heart troubles. Which makes me wonder if WWE thinks he won't ever get back to 100% and don't want to risk him having another issue on their clock. Mia feels similar to Ember in not quite fitting what WWE wanted, despite being quite good. I wonder if the rumors about Lee/Yim having trademark issues over their names were true. That definitely would chap WWE. Interesting that the two women in Retribution are out of WWE now. Seeing anyone lose their job stinks, especially when you think about how many uprooted everything they had to pursue their dream career. But that's corporate America for you. It's heartless and cold and takes no prisoner. No one with any kind of heart likes it. But Vince and Nick Khan don't get paid for their bleeding hearts. Vince probably doesn't bleed, anyway.

I was asked for my opinion, and I gave it. Sip or spit.

@Stefanie the Humanhit on some of my biggest gripes. The lack of stories for the women is sad. Their match is often in the death slot of the seventh quarter-hour, to cool down the crowd before the main event. They push no other women beside Britt Baker. Hikaru Shida was champion for over a year, yet she can't get any TV time these days. Nyla Rose isn't in a much better spot. Big Swole and Diamante's feud should have been featured on Dynamite. Hopefully with the arrival of Ruby Soho, we'll see the women's division get more focus. Though Ruby getting her big moment on All Out only because of PAC's travel issues doesn't give me a lot of hope. But at least the women who've been champion have been diverse. That's more than I can say for the men. Save for Scorpio Sky and now the Lucha Bros, no man of color has been in a high spot. It looked like Sky was going to get a solo push, but he's back in a tag team. It reeks of AEW being a private club where only those with big names or who are friends of The Elite. Someone recently put together a list of 500 black wrestlers, many of whom are indie. AEW could have easily signed several of these wrestlers, but are just now getting around to offering Lee Moriarty a contract. The excuse of them still being a young company doesn't fly with me. If anything, that means they can look at decades of wrestling being embarrassingly late to diversify and avoid the same problems. Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks are being set up to work with Punk, it seems. So maybe things will get better on that front, too. I have some other issues with AEW, but those two are huge. They built their company on a platform of inclusivity, but I'm not seeing it.