thee Reverend Axl Future
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Posts posted by thee Reverend Axl Future
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The one-two punch of the Naomi/Banks and Stephanie McMahon events really has me reeling. I would think that those could become two of the stories of the year, especially with more development and fallout with N&B and an explanation for SM. Not only is the year not even half over, but I have a feeling that some more big shake-ups, changes and surprises (for most) with long term effects are going to keep coming, and soon.
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That AoP card exists in the nether zone between potentially interesting and absolute trash. Some good/fun workers but I could see it being a total nostalgia money grab. It really reminds me of the Euro tours all the ex-WWF folks would do.
Date: 27.04.1993
Promotion:m World Wrestlings Superstars
Location: Wien, Österreich
Arena: Stadthalle
The Cheetah Kid defeats Johnny Rotten (13:44)
The American Indians (Brave Sky & Nikona) defeat Cuban Assassin & Mike Lane (w/The Hustler) (15:24)
Bambi & Candi Devine defeat Leilani Kai & Peggy Lee Leather
The Warlord defeats Butch Reed (16:01)
Jake Roberts defeats Greg Valentine (w/Madusa) by DQ (19:28)
The Warrior defeats Hercules (w/The Hustler)
Attention DEAN - Candi Devine AND Leilani Kai mentioned on this thread. Run, don't walk.
Y'know --- for the kids.
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Budd Heavy (OVER!) not having a merch table is the most gregarious wastage of potential ducats I have heard of. Is he a millionaire, or a Commie? Also, in the Land of Hyperbole Abutting Grim Reality, you have no ideer of the size of Mr. EJ Nduka until you are eye-to-nipple with the man.
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That is a damn nice "poster" , graphically. Very easy to read as well.
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I cannot argue because my memory is so terrible (even moreso lately, aarghh) but I remember reading a discussion of the WWE contracts, and unless you have (aka are allowed to have) a really savvy lawyer read it AND have the juice to demand it, most WWE contracts are able to be terminated by them at any point before your 1/3/5 year renewal phase. Another way they get ya.
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Thanks for all the clarifications. As usual, it comes down to who can afford to pay their lawyers the longest.
I know that the 90 day clause is just for WWE, but I was wondering that since most contracts renew monthly, if the workers could take advantage of that cut clause. Anybody could sit home for the length of their contract, but if another fed was bold enough to use them before then (after the 90 days?) if the WWE would leap into petty action mode and if they had a real case. It is clearer to me now why no one would want to take that chance. I can see why Del Rio and Lesnar may have had some leverage, but what about Storm? I can only think of unfounded conspiratorial reasons...
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To oversimplify it, can WWE apply any legal penalties if a worker under contract just up and quits, past the usual 90 day no compete? Doesn't that cut clause work both ways, as well as their independent contractor status? I am currently reading a stack of WONs sent to me by my bosom buddy DSH, and I just got to the "Toni Storm walks out" issue. Or would vary from contract to contract? There is that 'make up time for in juries' bogusness that Misterio and Huber got zapped with, of course. Mr. McMahon is never on the take the high road...
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I am doing on the fly, brudda. I just posted it, I don't start writing until 0400, dontcha know, because my sleep schedule is all out of whack, Long COVIDs, dammit. I love you all.
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OK, I went to my local - local as in half-a-cigar walk - venue the 2300 Arena (formerly the you-know-what bingo hall, now it's all nice) this past Friday to see MLW and then two day hence Sunday to see the New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wow, I wonder what the poor people are doing?!?! Anyway, tonight I posted both show reviews, but they are not just show reviews, 'cause it's ----
Johnny LaRue Presents: thee RAF's STREET BEEF. Dig it.
Anyway, same rules as the MLW entry, lookin' at my notes and trying to be positive (and that may mean skipping over a lot). The cheap NJPW tix were 2x the price of the cheapo MLW ones. Neither show was sold out, but they were full. This here was another taping and they got a lot of footage, daddy. Maybe spoilers, but to me that's nerd talk. There will be more feeling and emotions than facts anyway, because it is the currency of my heart.
- This whole thing was very expertly & efficiently run, with fancy backdrops for photo ops, video displays and colorful multi-lingual banners. Indies take note. Lots of shilling for their new game/app. I got a free pin. Dojo boys and girls everywhere cleaning, looking pensive, applying ice packs, ushering, selling merch, tightening up the ring...
- Speaking of which, those were the tightest top ropes I have seen in a long time. In contrast, the MLW ring looked a bit janky. I expect no less from either one.
- The merch booth was well staffed and monstrous and 'spensive. And yet, the great O-Khan, out of gimmick, had his own and some seemingly remaindered merchandise for sale on the pool table by the bathrooms with a makeshift sign. It was very endearing somehow.
- There was a bit of confusion as to when the show was supposed to begin w/multiple start times available. However, the action went from 5pm to a bit after 9pm with one short intermission and very little between match delays.
- RAF's open admission: I am not a big fan of modern the NJPW style. The most interesting workers involved for me are usually the most different ones. That said, it was a loaded card.
- There was SO MUCH pottymouth on this card, in the ring and on the promos. I mean, past XPW or ECW house level - is this because the gaijins can get away with it? I dunno, maybe the Japanese workers were cussing too. My pals barely speak English goodly.
- The crowd was slightly younger, slightly more hipster-ish, less drunk and more filled with females. In fact, there were gaggles of ladies w/o accompanying menfolks roaming around. Very unusual for a wrestling show in my experience but obviously I am going to the wrong shows. Don't worry, there was a healthy dose of South Philly genetic defectives and grotesques of all sizes. Ah, my people...
- Another complaint, and a serious one: literally every match had "letting your opponent hit you" exchange of blows. Every damn one. In this and other ways, the "strong style" displayed here was just as stylized and ritualistic as any mocked fed house style, like the WWF '80s or WWE 'everyone does all their signature spots' ones. Everything in moderation, kids.
- On the plus side, there were several Castro Street-worthy manly mustaches being sported. Messrs. Frye, Severn and Tom of Finland would be proud. I know I was (sideburns and goatee I can do, but RAF's own lip hair is a shonda).
- Oh, yeah, wrestling. I've lost all the cool posters already. Sorry, thank you for reading this far. How about this - I was really interested to see David Finley (v. Danny Limelight, a fave from CHIKARA). The kid is good but he's not there yet. He's all offence with no flow. It would be fine if that was his gimmick (like a monster heel beserker) but he wants to do everything. Give him a little time, it's in his blood.
- My man Yan said his favorite Irish wrestler was here and I said who is that and he said "The Great O'Khan" and now that's my favorite thing to thing about. We both shoot adore TGOK anyways, even before his odd lot merch gimmick made us learn to love again.
- Good matches: the 8 Man (Great O-Khan, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, and Aaron Henare vs. Jonah, Shane Haste, Bad Dude Tito, and Mikey Nicholls), I really liked this one. Willie Mack vs. Jeff Cobb stood out, as it was worked in a more traditional US style. Mack was over like zero-G flapjacks here in Philly and JC is no slouch although I think he needs better ring gear. Brody King and Jake Something were also a crowd favorite.
- Folks also loveloveloved Hiroshi Tanahashi - hey, what's not to like. Workwise, there were too many signature spots jammed in there for my picky tastes but he looks great doing it. The crowd knew what to expect and "made" him do his guitar poses after the match. Yeah, twist his arm, why dontcha. He faced a returning Chris Dickinson who is a 2300 Arena vet. He is slimmer now and looked and moved like a proper New Japanner. Strangely, he worked Tanahashi's right leg the whole match so that distracted me. Also, it was the last match and I thought it was going to end over an hour before and my poor daughter was waiting for us to pick her up to go get dinner BUT WRESTLING FIRST KIDDO you gots to learn that ASAP but Yan and I grabbed her and we went to Nifty Fifties, ooh RAF loves thee NF. it was a school night and there was to be standardized testing the next day, example #279 in an ongoing series "Why RAF Is An Unfit Parent". She'll be OK, she's tough'n'smart, even though her mother is from New Jersey.
- Fred Rosser challenged Tom Lawlor and it was great. Rosser seems... clumsy? hesitant? Is it just me? He comes off as not being "ring smart", as in a newbie babyface who gets outsmarted way. Is that how he works or how he's booked? I mean, he's not inept by any means, don't get me wrong. Now Lawlor is doubleplus good, such an underrated heel and he busted his butt here getting both of them AND the match AND the title over. Here's the weird thing: I have spoken of the PA Athletic Commission color ban, and the "accident" on Friday at MLW, but here they did this - after a little while in the ring, they fought up the ramp to backstage (no cameras), we heard shouts and loud crashes like an off screen car wreck in a '50s sit-com and thee Filthy One dashes back to the ring. Rosser makes it back at the 19.5 count with the crimson mask. I figgered it was an external application of some plasma-like fluid to get around the embargo, but it kept bleeding. What secret deal was done to allow this? Doctor administered blading? Sushi off of a naked geisha? One of the dope-ass NJPW track jackets (retail $265) to the state officials? I dunno, Fred my man, but if you are trying to get on RAF's good side, a top level color job is a good way to go. Anyway, it was a very good match.
- The Bullet Club show, I mean match (Jay White, Juice Robinson, Hikuleo, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows v. Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Mascara Dorada, Chuck Taylor & Ren Narita), was too much "cool heeling" for me. It is always a blessing to see Mr. Chuck Taylor, Ishii is a delight, Dorada stood out and there isn't a bad worker anywhere in here, even if the Bullet Club gimmick is a drag by this point.
- Minoru Suzuki was matched well with Tony Deppen but it did not approach the bone-grinding level of misanthropic punishment that my fevered brain had conjured. Could anything? Those shorts boots still do rock my fashion world, oh yeah.
- Will Ospreay against Homicide was done as a classic grudge match between two different styles. It almost worked but there was much to unsuspend one's disbelief, not the least of which was the glaring weakness of Ospreay's strikes (primarily forearms). I mean, they were really bad live. It made it hard for Homicide to sell, and I can't believe that WO does not have any close friends who can pull him to the side for a serious talk about this. If Homicide couldn't keep up with some of the fancy shmancy spots that Ospreay does, well that's fits the match's gimmick, y'know, but Will Ospreay's love taps were just embarrassing. At any rate, they tried to tell a story, there was a surprize guest, Homicide got a fork, the ref slapped it out of his hand and my chum Jason hipchecked a preteen out of the way to grab it Philly-style. Long story short, he got it autographed and authenticated and he's putting it on eBay, probably to get scratch to buy Phish tickets.
- My money's worth? Yeah, sure (again disputing this bogus $6 surcharge), but not twice as good as MLW in that sense. This is for me, because I like the style and presentation and fat workers of MLW. There are a few too many younger workers here who grew up on NJPW and puro tapes and are so happy to ape that style and chase an ideal and end up so similar in work, look and presentation. They are all great workers but you can't all be strong. You can't be all hard without first understanding the soft, the yielding and the gentle, and don't forget about the midgets and dancing skellingtons and the savage Samoans and vampires and Strange Style and stuff, yeah granted you got the shrieking Mongol shaman and grizzled old vet but it's all about diversity these days, man.
It was a festive time. If I am bitching about a quality product like this stuff here, that must mean life is pretty good. Or that I am self-defeatingly petty, or have very particular standards. Probably all three, but this was fun and I learned a lot.
edit - I didn't see that there a better thread for this here blabbermouthin'. If a mod thinks it would do better in the "npw strong and usa..." spot, feel free to move it. Thankee.
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So I was going to go, then I wasn't, repeat x3 over the past three months, then at the last minute I buy cheap tix for the MLW TV taping at the 2300 Arena this past Friday AND for NJPW Strong event on Sunday. I have had a shite couple of weeks, I am broker than the 10 Commandments and I got my Kratos Titan absolutely snagged whilst magnet fishing that day. Oy vey, but as thee great Tommy Rich has said, "I'M IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE, BABY" so into the breach we plunge again. I can't say I will be able to keep it brief but RAF is going to lean into the positivity despite the above punishments from The Great Spirit. In that low budget vein, we present the first of:
Johnny LaRue Presents: thee RAF's STREET BEEF. Dig it.
- My memory is holier than Il Papa's boxers, so i am working off my scrawled notes over here. It's a TV taping, so spoilers maybe? Won/loss really ain't my focus anyhoo.
- My first notation is that Bill Apter is a lich. That's sort of positive, right?
- I recently discovered that my live card scale is that the worse the card is, the more I drink (and I barely booze anymore). Every venue around here has alcohol available, or I bring it in. When rassling is done wrong, it hurts my heart and I seek to remedy it with cold beer and warm shots. I remained sober for this card.
- I tried and failed to prevent my pal Tony from spending too much at the merch tables. He is helpless to his addiction to attractive wrestlers. He also is an informative source on worker's OnlyFans and Grindr accounts so it serves my journalistic/purient needs. We bicker, Oscar & Felix style, about particular wrestlers predilections. The issues remain unresolved. That's the fun part, isn't it?
- Some of my other pals were delighted that Gangrel appeared like 5 times on this card (TV tapings, yay). If he working on a by-the-match basis then good for him, those blouses don't come cheaply. There were a couple minor but fun surprise appearances here, which always adds value.
- "You can never have enough Arez" - RAF
- The 6 Man (Lince Dorado, Taya Valkyrie, & Microman defeated Arez, Holidead, & Mini Abismo Negro) and the Three Way (Myron Reed defeated KC Navarro and Arez) (back-to-back, incidentally) were fun. See above note. I don't like everyone overselling for Microman but I love it when he gets beat up. I assume that means I am a bad man with a black heart. So be it. MM is fine as a gimmick-comedy worker for a short term thing but you can't sacrifice so many of your workers to him with such a thin unstable roster. One bad man's opinion. The three way was fun, KCN and Arez and MR are all great, that's just a fact.
- Seeing these Young Von Erichs gives me '80s flashbacks to how much I wanted to see the Elder VEs lose. I still do.
- Cheap mic heat is running wild. No names, you know who you are. Philly sportsball team stink, blah blaw bla...
- This is definitely worth my $20 but that 2300 $6 fee (on each ticket!) kills me. I guess all the teenagers working everywhere in here need to start saving up for junior proms. The bartenders are always adult and attractive. How fast can Alpha Security wear out black turtlenecks?
- Evil Makeup Alicia Atout is pleasantly effective at ringside. I honestly believe that MLW is the best out of any current fed in their use of non-wrestler workers. RAF loves a competent manager.
- Speaking of effective non-wrestler workers, how freakin' good is Cesar Duran? I mean, his motivations and machinations actually make sense. The crowd hangs on his every word. He needs a better class of henchmen, tho'.
- RAF, with all due respect, prefers his wrestling Samoans savage and heel rather than gangsta and babyface. However, times change and I must accept that.
- The PA Athletic Commission (the shoot heels) have really been enforcing the "no juice" thing here, yet tonight there was accidental (?) color (and see NJPW Street Beef as well). Jacob Fatu was covered with thee krovvy after getting jumped at ringside, yet the show went on and he appeared in the main all cleaned up. I like to think he got a pass for being a brilliant worker and a Samoan.
- NZO dressed and talked like a dangerous drunk homeless person and I loved it.
- Speaking of Mr. 'ZO, I look at him as a very underappreciated worker, akin to the way folks on-line view Michael Hayes and (early) DDP. They all were learning on the job, all tried to find a way to stand out and they all filled a role of someone who had to make the match be entertaining while usually putting someone over. Not the tradition roles of the carpenter or enhancement talent, but more of the mid-card threat. The reasons I see that the Former Amore works a lots of vets around here is that he doesn't have an ego to get in the way, he wants to absorb the knowledges and he can match them gimmick for gimmick. I spoke to him at his merch table, and he did say the phrase that I admire: "I want to have a match that's different from the other matches on the card. That's how I am going to stand out." Wise words. I still did not buy anything.
- The main event was much better than I expected. JFatu and Mads Krugger really worked the weapon and plunder gimmick in very intelligent ways for the psychology of the match. The set decoration was festive and showed that MLW cares. Good finish for the match and the card.
In the spirit of thee late great Johnny LaRue, I did note the lack of crane shots at this taping, and not even a camera drone buzzing about. Hell, Giant Baba or Bill Watts didn't need no cranes to make a rassling show. Good on you, Mr. Court Bauer.
Wrestling is fun and I learned a lot.
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On 5/9/2022 at 9:13 AM, DEAN said:
Eita bleeds a lot from total ass stomper....uh.... HAYATA? Either way, there's a lot of blood.
Factions and symbols -
Shiny shorts beget thigh slaps.
New kids find their ways.
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Hey, Chris - Johnny Rodz also has an open door policy (call first, maybe?). If you are in thee NYC area, for sure check out Gleason's Gym in nearby Brooklyn. Also lots of memorabilia, and if Thee Unpredictable One is not there, someone else is happy to give a quick tour. Mr. Rodz would be a great interview subject for thee WP, Chris. I really want to know about his CA run(s), El Shafto, and selling jewelry to the boys in the WWWF. Get on it, Chris! (If it's good enough for Thee Boogie Woogie Man, it's good enough for me.)
He catches his flight.
Unpredictable gets on,
Java Ruuk deplanes.
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20 hours ago, odessasteps said:
New Podcast - we talk to the legendary Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant about his career, his school, Vince Sr, the Bruiser, Paul Jones, making records and much more. Thanks to Beau James for helping set it up.
I enjoyed this. JV's recall is prodigious, as seen in his autobiography as well. It is often hard to interview old vets, as they can get stuck in carny mode - selling things, putting themselves over or giving stock kay fabed answers to questions they have been asked many times before. However, once the Boogie Woogie Man gets going, he really is informative. His positivity is infectious, which I like. I had occasion to talk to several faded superstars, and asking them very unusual question often got very honest responses (Capt. Lou, Moolah, Raschke, Jimmy Valiant) or sometimes suspicion (HRace, MFernandez). I don't blame them.
God to Fritz: "CALL HIM
VALIANT" so he did so.
The Boogie followed.
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Those are two amazing cards.
Dusty/Street - antics.
Valiant/Tully - heartfelt.
I wish I was there.
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OK, Mr. Dean - here is my "before they were stars", really more of a "already established in Mexico" & "destined to be stars in the USA" & "shoulda coulda woulda". I've posted this before, but I have heard (from Mr. Legend, I thinks) that it was Rey Misterio Jr's USA in-ring debut (as Superboy). Konan had appeared a couple times already. I went by myself and had a great time. Mando & Chavo were bemused at the club setting but were intent on getting their luchadores over. Famous Flame's sister hit on me and I didn't realize it until later (stupid!). Johnny legend remembered me and we chatted; the man is a, arcane aggregator of some many cool American subcultures and entertainments. I still think wrestling and rock'n'roll could be promoted together successfully.
Johnny Legend links
his passions for our pleasure.
"That little kid's good."
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1 hour ago, The Natural said:
Buddha damn it, I covet that hat so much that I will be forced to remain on this material plane for many generations. It was made at Alcala's in Chicago, and they had a prototype/extra on display there for years until it was misplaced in a remodeling. I did get to shake the hand of the master that made it, however. Lots of sports players shopped there, especially in the late '80s when cowboy hats and dusters were an unfortunate style option for menfolk (not everybody can pull it off). They also had a pair of Andre The Giant's boots nailed to a beam.
Bunkhouse Stampede hat:
the ur-chapeau of all lids.
Big Dust did it right.
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8 hours ago, Wee Bey said:
His piledriver
is in my Top Three Bestest.
Don't call him Paula.
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I use "ringcircle" for special occasions.
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I will reiterate my rant again, since I think the last time we did this was on the old board, but the only reason that that Snuka promo exists in the interWebs is due to thee dynamic and personable Larry & Leslie from (the late great) CARBON 14 magazine transcribing it for their piece in the very first issue of my 'zine CLAW HOLD! (Thee Special Crimson Mask Edition). Someone else threw it on the web and it has bounced around ever since. There must be footage of it since they had it to watch and learn from. There were a couple of other things I feel free to trace back to CH!, including the taxonomy of Thee Poison Mist (from #2, the Deadly Poison Mist Issue, natch) by Yours Truly, that appear uncredited in the digital world... It is amusing to see this stuff float back years later but I must also be the voice for the voiceless, love ya Mr. & Mrs. Kay.
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On 4/28/2022 at 1:03 AM, The Natural said:
That's not a side headlock. Sorry, being pedantic.
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2 hours ago, DEAN said:
I got a lot of those episodes sitting on a list in my youtube account. I should watch those. I remember going to see NAWA at the Arthur Ashe center in Richmond WWAAAAAY back in the day. I remember the Nasty Boys being there like WEEKS before they showed up in the AWA and on to stardom. I remember they spat on a fan. It was awesome.
It's thee little things that count. Seriously tho', I believe (and have observed) that when you get folks talking about memorable rassling they have seen, it is often an angle or post-match brawl or crowd reaction or pre-match promo - or evening out with the lads/grandma/kids - that people wax enthusiastic about. I have seen much great cards 'n' matches 'n' moves, but it is the actions, events and experiences that I recall most readily. Knobbs' spit > some double top rope kanadian spinning thunder blue fire fuzion banger move...
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On 4/22/2022 at 12:45 PM, The Great ML said:
This is too cool not to share...
That is about $95US in 2022 moneys, and the mezz is not very good seating at all. Some papers gave the attendance at 30,000 but the real figures were 21,000 and $63,000, which means that a lot of cheap seats were sold. There is film of this match, ads for 8mm clips were in older "boxing & wrestling" mags.
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5 hours ago, Super Ape said:
I've been driving myself crazy trying to find a no-ring sleaze match in front of like 10 people. One guy was doing Shibata headbutts and they were wrestling over what looked like a toy WWE belt. Does anybody know anything about it? I know I'm not good with names, but I'm hoping this place will know.
This is the only thing that came to my lesion-filled brain, it's that Russian backyard deathmatch joint, lots of fun, yes?
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I have always thought that booking committees were less than useless at producing quality wrestling shows, but I don't see that there is any other way other than a modified group to write and book things now. The previous generation never trained anyone in the current one about booking. I think we need these folks working together as the bookers:
- someone with authority to bring the ideas to the workers, who has veto power, and the long-term vision who is going to be on this team for a while.
- a couple young hot shot creative guys, at least one of whom has been in the biz, who understand social media and how things are marketed nowadays.
- a vet who knows what has worked in the past (the basics), who has the ear of a rabbi of the the business who might also be getting paid but ostensibly is not "there" and is just used for advice, and angles that are so old that they are new again.
- someone w/o a wrestling background that comes from a TV production/showrunning/writing background.
The "rules" need to be established and stuck to, but not necessarily known to the public - clean finishes, no back stage cameras, feuds maintained on Twitter, whatever.... The group needs to be empowered and stable, with members rotated out periodically (except for the head person) to keep things freash. They need to be in communication with whomever is doing the hiring and training to gets new workers off and running.
A sample crew (to demonstrate the model)? How about Khan, Delirious, Jay Lethal, Dreamer (access to Foley, Funk, Heyman) and a couple NetFlix vets?
Just spitballing.
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MAY 2022 Pro Wrestling Discussion
in The PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
Posted
Really. I think that Stephanie McMahon's departure from the corporate sphere is the real story. She may not do so much creative but she has been groomed as the representative McmMhon on the board. Her absence as a performer of little import. Of course, S&N's walkout had as much to do with money as control, but it is their status and manner of leaving that makes this a story to keep an eye on. And as I said, the two stories back-to-back is what blows my mind.