Burgundy LaRue

I just don't know anymore. I consider myself a regular person, more or less. With flaws and shortcomings, a bit sensitive, but fundamentally a decent person with average intelligence should be able to handle themselves in most situations. But I'm reaching a point where it all feels wrong. Everything I think or say is meaningless and I can't get out of my own thoughts, no matter how much I tell myself to go about my day. To do basic things that someone in my position can do. Things that I've done multiple times for years. I look at this world falling apart with so many who have it worse than me. And I feel dumb for being non-functional when I know how to function. Like I should be doing something right now instead of typing on a message board. But I can't bring myself to even try. It's ridiculous and stupid and I shouldn't be like this. I'm better than this. I don't blame anyone else for me being at this point. It's on me. But I can't definitively say what I did wrong. Or if I even did anything wrong at all. I'm tired.

I indicated in my second post that I talk wrestling across several forms and that my take on Naomi's situation wasn't based on what happens here. Because I don't come here often anymore for that to be a thing. What I have seen--and I don't know why that's so hard for some of you to believe--is that Sasha is constantly talked about while Naomi is barely mentioned. That's been the case since the beginning of their walkout. It's not a new occurrence based on Sasha possibly getting her release. In what I've seen, it's become how Sasha was incredible to stand up for herself and she doesn't need WWE. But Naomi continually gets pushed aside, even though they both walked out at the same time and seemingly for similar reasons. I get that Sasha is more popular and expected to become the bigger mainstream star. Not the issue I have with it, but rather that few seem to even remember Naomi's basic existence, outside of diehard fans who get told she ultimately doesn't matter. Again, that's based on what I've seen in several mediums. I believe there's racism and specifically colorism involved with that, but that's another topic. I've been called a stupid sheep bitch who wants to fuck and suck off WWE by some on this board. Had my opinions completely disregarded and my basic intelligence questioned. Been asked ignorant questions based on the perceptions of my fandom instead of treated normally. Trust me, my feelings aren't based on mild disagreements. And yeah, I already have those folks on block so I don't see what they're saying when I come around. I keep coming around here once in a while, mostly out of habit, but because I remember having some good conversations. But I also remember the direct insults by some. So yeah, it can be contentious and mean-spirited for some of us, going beyond differences of opinion.

I barely come to this board anymore. My wrestling dialogue from lots of other places well beyond DVDVR. In my experience from several areas, Naomi gets ignored. If you've seen differently, good. But I haven't. And yes, from my perspective, it is per usual. My comment comes from what I regularly see. I don't have to make up anything. What I would hope for is no one making assumptions about what I've heard or where I got it from. I don't need the questioning about my wrestling fandom, of all things. What I'm not open to is the often-constant questioning around here when trying to share my fandom, just because it doesn't correlate to the majority. Discussions are good and welcome. But I've been around the bend enough and have good reason to be jaded.

EDIT: Deleting original post. It's not worth starting an argument.

I expected it, but it's still disheartening to see how this has become the Sasha Banks story, forgetting and ignoring Naomi per usual.

I know who most of the NJPW people are, but I'm not invested in anything happening here. I imagine that's even less so for plenty of American wrestling fans.

Simone has made it clear she doesn't want to be only known as Rock's daughter, because there's a strong chance she'll be accused of riding dad's coattails. And good luck to her getting any resembling a normal response in the CWC, regardless of her wrestling name.

-Wardlow powerbombing MJF into a stretcher job was great. The Goldberg presentation for Wardlow is too obvious for my tastes, but I will say it works. -Watching Jeff Hardy "wrestle" is sad. I thought he was having a medical emergency a couple of times. Matt's tailbone is essentially fused to his spine and he was moving significantly better than his brother. Even with the boot/gear issue, he seemed way off. -Jade and Anna are likely going to be good in a year or so. They didn't make any noticeable mistakes here. Still, it felt longer than seven minutes, even with the run-ins. Stokely Hathaway as a possible manager for Jade is a good move. As is signing Athena, provided they plans for her beyond a month on Dynamite/Rampage before becoming a YouTube fixture. Introducing her with little fanfare isn't giving me hope. They crammed too much here with Stokely, Athena and the Statlander run-in. -House of Black vs Death Triangle was really good, but having six guys nearly kill themselves only for the cheerleader to be the deciding factor felt off for me. Took them long enough to turn Julia Hart, though! And she's miles better at the mist gimmick than Malakai. -Joe vs Cole was OK? There wasn't anything technically wrong with it, but it didn't exactly hit its mark, either. Cole is a prime example of how much presentation matters. He was The Guy in NXT. Now, he feels like Random Cruiserweight Wrestling Guy. -As soon as I saw the Owen brackets, I saw Cole and Britt winning. Britt doesn't click for me anymore. The match with Ruby Soho was plodding per Britt's usual MO. Any chance Ruby had to be someone big in AEW feels gone. The ceremony with Martha was nice but too long. The belts are really nice. -The 6 person mixed tag was a six pack of flat soda. Paige Van Zant isn't close to ready and Tay Conti isn't who you call to carry her. -KOR vs Darby Allin was good, but wasn't needed for this show. Darby will be in a wheelchair in a few years with how he continually hates his neck. Jeff Hardy shouldn't be a template on how to build your career. -Thunder Rosa vs Serena Deeb was very good. It's too bad Rosa is being treated as an afterthought despite being champion. Loved her gear. -Jericho Appreciation Society gives off bad vibes, but Anarchy in the Arena with Moxley and Co. was fun. I liked this a lot more than the Stadium Stampede matches. Eddie Kingston with the gas can was a great visual, wish commentary didn't try to no-sell it as not being such. Kingston willing to sacrifice Danielson to get to Jericho was spot on. -Triple threat tag match was fast-paced and energetic. Ricky Starks is a star if they give him the time and space. Keith Lee as the trolling uncle at the cookout is hilarious. I understand why crowning new champs (particularly Starks/Hobbs) felt like the better play, but have to figure they're going to do more to break Jungle Boy away from Luchasaurus before they drop the belts. -Main event was fine. Admittedly, I'm not a CM Punk fan. Anything he does isn't going to register high with me. I like the breakdown of Page's character I've read in the thread. That deep down, he's not a jerk. But he knows Punk is and tried to stop Punk before that train started again. Felt like it took too long for Page to do the right thing and made him look goofy. I get that AEW only has four PPVs right now and they have to do more on those shows. But it's a lot to get through. And I still myself in the 'I guess' category with them. May just have to concede that overall, it's not designed for someone like me.

Another thing to consider is the rise of social media. Nielsen looks at that with separate metrics. WWE (and AEW too) do well with that. How much money is made from that, I have no clue. But you have to figure there's something to it. So who are some of the wrestlers who move that metric on their own? Roman, Cody, Ronda and Brock trend regularly. For AEW, Punk does well. Tony Khan does too, albeit for his sometimes questionable Twitter etiquette. Others trend too, but those are the ones who I've seen do so consistently. @NoFistsJustFlipsbrings up a great point about Roman not being a household name. Nick Khan did an interview before WM and Triple H did one a couple of days ago that allude to how WWE had trouble getting current wrestlers booked even for NBC/NBCU late night shows. Roman has been on Fallon a couple of times in the last several months. Khan has indicated that they plan on promoting him more so he becomes a household name. So they see the need to do that. And if they can get Roman to some level of regular mainstream fame, pushing others in that direction will be easier.

This will get mocked by my oh-so-much-smarter fellow members. Eh, I've been mocked for less around here. Brock and Roman are massive draws on YT. Considering how WWE pretty much puts up clips that gives one an entire show's rundown, them (along with Ronda) consistently bringing in millions of views usually just for standing there is something. Cody is doing good numbers right now. We'll see if he remains consistent over the next 6-12 months. WWE likely makes as much or more on YT than AEW does with their TV deal, so it's not chump change we're looking at. I'm not saying that anything should live or die by these metrics. But they pull in sizeable numbers that WWE clearly count for something. Even when he was supposedly box office poison, Roman was selling tons of merch. He's supposedly on Cena levels of moving shirts and what-nots these days. FOX apparently made it known to WWE they wanted Roman on SD when they moved there in 2019. And USA supposedly whined, so they came up with the Wild Card rule for that summer so he could still be on RAW for a bit. Someone in a fancy office thinks he has value. And he brought SD's ratings back up to 2M+ when he returned after SummerSlam 2020. They dropped when he took his leave. Brock and Ronda also have caused some uptick in ratings when they returned to TV. Those three are the draws, however one may value that in 2022. And again, watch Cody's numbers to see if he maintains them. If so, he'll join that list. @(BP) mentioned WWE as IP and there's truth to that. That's where the value to any entertainment company now. There was a good article recently--I think from CNBC--where they talk about how streaming services are looking to buy niche sports companies for the continuous live content, how Disney goofed in not buying UFC in 2016. How, if they have ESPN renew their licensing rights, they'll have paid more for those licenses than it would have cost to buy UFC outright six years ago. So if you're WWE, you have a 20,000-hour library that you still own, along with the IPs to countless characters that can be used in a multitude of ways. But part of that allure is them continually creating/building new IP--new stars, more or less. If Roman Reigns or whoever you push as your big star is this supposed dud--then WWE may as well close up shop and call it a good run. which I know would cause a massive party around here, but I digress. Now, if we want to debate whether WWE does its best work in promoting said stars/IP, that's worth a discussion. And yes, WWE has been built in a way where they don't have to depend on one guy/girl to be a massive draw. No one who's looked at their business would dispute that. But the idea that they have no current wrestler who contributes to their bottom line is puzzling. Comes across as crapping on talent just because you can squat. If WWE's ratings are rotten, don't bother even talking about AEW's. That's not me dismissing them. Thing is, TV ratings aren't the best metric to use unless we're looking at live sports (actual, not sports entertainment/pro wrasslin'). And even then, it's not the be all, end all. Nielsen lost its accreditation because they were 6-10% off with their numbers. Any poll that's more than 5% off is considered worthless, so that tells us where Nielsen was. And that's before we get into how those boxes were heavily put in White upper-middle class homes, ignoring Blacks and other POC plus lower-income families. Wrestling is a niche within a niche now. Most things are. With dozens of streaming services and cable steadily going down in popularity, anything that pops 1M+ rating is good as gold. Which means Dynamite is no trouble. Neither is RAW. But by and large, wrestling is this quirky thing that networks can put on for live content at a fairly cheap price. Such is the life within ultra-geek culture and those of us who still enjoy this mess.

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.