just drew

I would submit that: 1; there are lots of Samoans in the main event right now, but that has to do with their relation to one particular talent. If Roman Reigns weren't in WWE, would Samoans and other Pacific Islanders be featured as heavily as they are? 2; Most of the Latinos featured on WWE TV are in stories with other latinos. The LWO and LDF, for example. Dominik is the exception, but that's still not a very high success rate. WWE has a chance to correct this with Penta, but I'm not particularly optimistic. 3; I could absolutely believe that there's something odd going on with HHH. Swerve Strickland has said multiple times on his podcast that he never once felt like HHH related to him or other black talent, and that he never had a single productive interaction with him. Strickland attributes this to HHH's complete unfamiliarity with urban and hip-hop culture (I promise, I feel as white typing that as I'm sure I would sound saying it). Montez Ford could be a main eventer 6 weeks from now. He's charismatic, handsome, freakishly athletic, and a good promo. I think he's one of those guys where you have to make a conscious effort NOT to make him a star. Xavier Woods has every tool, too, AND he's one of HHH's nxt "OG's." Big E should've been a much bigger deal even than he was, but given what happened, that's understandable. I haven't seen enough of Ashante Thee Adonis to have an informed opinion, but he and Cedric Alexander should be on the main roster somewhere. Honestly, it's not just that black male talent aren't featured, it's who's being featured instead of them. Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, Johnny Gargano, and probably 3 dozen others are guys WWE could lose tomorrow and the show wouldn't suffer in quality at all. In fact, Theory's continued presence on WWE TV would be "exhibit A" of my class action lawsuit against TKO if I were Swerve, Bobby Lashley and Keith Lee. There are some absolute fucking bums on TV every week. But, as Chris Rock once said, "it's all right, 'cause it's all white."

Hurt Business was on the 'Mania 40 card, so them being let go was a HHH call.

I've got a hot take, and maybe it's out of line, but thats what this thread is for; If I were TK, I'd be taking WWE to task every chance I get for the lack of African American men in the main roster main event scene. On Dynamite you had Hurt Syndicate, Private Party, Mercedes Monet, Swerve, & Ricochet. AR Fox too. Meanwhile, while nxt is and continues to be wonderfully diverse, the top of the main roster is less colorful than Donald Trump's cabinet. Make Triple H keep answering that question with that dogshit "I don't see color." The war AEW is losing the most decisively is the PR war, and there's no excuse for Trips to keep getting a free pass. I know some people are gonna say "but Bianca and Jade and Naomi!" First of all, that's some midcard ass-shit at the moment. Secondly, Bianca is in a freefall in relation to where she was 2 years ago. There are what, 11 championships on the main roster? How many are held by people of color? Nakamura? Anyone else? That's an issue and it's an area Tony Khan should absolutely be on the offensive on...

Bruh I've been thinking for like two years that I want to see Lasher vs. Hangman for some reason. It just feels like one off hte true "dream matches" left.

The phrase "multiple Culkins" popped me. Kudos.

Already done. I wanted to answer one thing he said in an objective manner. That's the last time I will address him.

I will answer this one time, against my better judgement. I am fully aware that pro wrestling is a work. That is, two or more performers co-operating to present a compelling pseudo-physical struggle to win a match. My contention, based on both personal opinion and trends within the business, is that the product is "better," both in terms of quality and level of engagement, when there is an element of realism included in the presentation. I am perfectly okay suspending my disbelief. I am much less okay ignoring the laws of physics and kinetics. I am on record as having said, multiple times, that the 123 Kid was my first favorite professional wrestler. My first favorite match was Kid vs. Bret Hart from Raw. Why? Because that match was worked in such a way that I was able, even as a child, to believe that two men were engaging in a legitimate combat encounter, and that the smaller man was fighting in such a way that he stood a realistic chance of defeating his larger opponent. I still watch that match a few times a year. I will admit to, at times, not doing a good job articulating my issues with pro wrestling as presented in the present day. My issue has never been with smaller opponents defeating larger ones. My current favorite WWE pay per view of all time is WM 30, largely because Daniel Bryan overcame 3 much larger opponents in a single night to become WWE Champion. My issue, and again, perhaps I communicated this poorly in the past, is when wrestlers who are at a clear and visible size disadvantage have no idea how to tweak their in-ring presentation to account for the size differential. I believe it's an epidemic plaguing modern pro wrestling, and while it's not limited exclusively to PWG alumni, I certainly believe that issue was incubated and turned into a common practice there. Based on what I've observed, the inclination to abandon the selling of previous moves and a reasonable in-ring pace for the pursuit of big moves and moments is a result of limited schedule events like BOLA. Pro wrestling is not UFC. Nor should it be. There is room within the storytelling medium for small underdogs overcoming larger heels and for cocky tiny heels to frustrate and befuddle larger babyfaces. It is a tremendous credit to guys like Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles that they are able to do both things at an elite level. But when a guy who looks like Adam Cole is able to stand and trade blows with a much larger opponent while showing no signs of the increased physical jeopardy that approach would put him in, it absolutely exposes the inner mechanisms of what makes pro wrestling such a unique and compelling art form.

Right? Heel FTR would definitely fit with the DR's original mission. They could say they've been distracted by friendship (cope) & other nonsense (Outrunners) but that FTR is about titles & money. Then you could get heel FTR versus babyface Hurt Syndicate. I'd watch that 315 times.

Fwiw, that’s always been my line of thinking. They’ve only ever briefly thrown hands w DR, and even that fits in with Mox’s “I don’t team with nobody til I bleed with ‘em first” ethos.

I promised an admin I wouldn’t interact with you anymore. You seem incapable of not taking any difference of opinion personally, and I’m not interested in having my character attacked over a differing opinion of wrestling. Get the help you clearly need.

Harley Cameron is the most entertaining woman in wrestling right now. WOW.

I’m going to bed, but that show really felt different. In a good way. It looked fantastic. All the story beats hit. I really thought it was good.

Weather has caused some changes to the card, apparently. No Joe tonight. More changes may be coming.

I almost feel like TK is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He can't let himself get walked all over. He's an executive and there's a way these things are done. I alkso feel like it's bad optics to hold people hostage. I do know that if Ricky Starks were in WWE and wanted to be released, they'd laugh at him.

Apparently Raw has lost a little over 2 million viewers on average since their premiere. I'm sure a lot of people watched the premiere and were baffled by the lack of wrestling on the WWE show. I know I found it frustrating.

TBH, I understand why TK is taking this Starks thing a little personally. Early Collision was in no small part designed to get Ricky Starks to the next level. He was involved in the main event every week and part of the top story. Allegedly, sometime between when Punk was fired and Starks had the strap match with Danielson, Ricky asked TK not to pick up his option years. It is, at minimum, extremely bad form to do that when someone is putting the might of their machine behind you, and it probably came off to TK as a lack of professionalism. Should he make Starks linger in wrestling purgatory? Probably not, but in this case, it's the exact thing the other company would do and I don't mind TK being a touch petty.

I mean, is it hard to believe she can be difficult to deal with? This isn’t exactly breaking news. I’m a big believer in context clues, and in this situation, those definitely point one way.

I appreciate the thoughtful response, but in 2024-25 I can't think of many, if any, people who have jobs as performers bc of who their friends are. WWE has 25 women who can give them what Britt would, only better and for less $. I'd absolutely buy Britt as a super big deal in the Impact Zone, though.

Fun fact; someone DM'ing me and telling me I was starting to sound like that guy was one of the catalysts of my self-reflection.

It's not hard to imagine that Britt has gotten on some people's nerves. It's also not hard to believe that the degree to which that's happened is being exaggerated. I never understood the Baker hype. I liked the dentist office thing, but as I've said many times; I love weird shit. Idk how much of the heat with Thunder Rosa was played up for the TV show, but either I got worked or that behavior really soured me on her. That "no one cares" during Serena's promo seemed very telling, too. Idk why WWE would want four quarters (Baker) when they already have the dollar (Chelsea Green). The AEW women's division has passed her by, and might have even lapped her.

I have never seen this term before and I LOVE it...

I really liked this show. The energy was good, it moved fast and all the matches were at least good. Other than the Acclaimed breakup that dragged. Everything else, I thought, really hit. Powerhouse Hobbs coming out at the end reminded me of this thing Dirty White Boy did in SMW in like 1993. I remember it because it was the first time I'd ever seen a babyface come out of the locker room midmatch to help a fellow outnumbered babyface. These are the things my brain retains. Not the metric shit-ton of things I need to get through tomorrow, but wrestling angles from 30 years ago. Yeah. I'm still suspicious of FTR and their eventual intentions. This crowd sure didn't seem tired of the Death Riders (yes, I know it's Mox's hometown. Let me enjoy this shit. Damn). Of all the things AEW has fucked up in the last year, they have hit on something with Big Bill. He jumps off the screen. I feel bad for STP having to job to those try-hard dorks. Lee Moriarty is capable of more. Shane Taylor looked like when the pee-wee football players try to tackle their parents at the last practice of the year. Excited to see Cool Hand Ang next week. Also, leading with the Texas Death Match was a choice. Like when Henry Fonda shoots that kid like 5 minutes into Once Upon a Time in the West...

680k viewers on tv. Not counting Max. They’re not out of the fight yet.

If they promise to keep Kenny far the fuck away from his dork-ass buddies, I'd be okay with Kenny Omega winning the title. Swerve, Hanger, and Joe would be good choices. Actually, go with Joe. He and Mox could damn near kill each other and Joe goes over. Then Christian comes out and cashes in and Joe whips his ass too. There's your reset.

1000% this. There is a LOT of just absolute ass on those early PPV undercards. Anyone who thinks AEW would be better off with Marko Stunt and Joey Janela than they are with Swerve and Bob Lash should probably have their heads examined. WWE had a monstrous roster in the late 2010's. Lots of guys ended up there. If you limited your signees to people who hadn't been featured on WWE tv you'd be shit out of luck.