NoFistsJustFlips

How far away are we from Raw & Smackdown having their own Women's Tag Titles? Neither taking a stance for or against that by the way. Just find it interesting WWE is INCAPABLE of booking floating titles. Couldn't make it work for The Undisputed Title, can't make the Women's Tag Titles work now. Just separate everything entirely and get it over with.

I don't think it'll take very long to switch things out. At All out they were able to build / fill / install two giant pools of mimosas with connected platforms in the time it took for the hype video to play. I'm sure they had wheels and were just rolled into place. One of the benefits of the ringside being all workers that will move & help with setup. They have never said this is a no rope barbed wire match. And if you saw the hype video on the Road To show that played after Dynamite, looks like they have a wooden fence like structure with the barbed wire the length of the ring already pre made. Just take a minute or two to get them in place and drilled together. The bombs could just be attached to plywood boards and already pre assembled too. Just have to slide them into place at ringside or whatever? I could be full of shit here lol. But the Road To had stock footage of the AEW ring in Jacksonville with the barbed wire already in place, likely from a test run. I don't think they would fabricate something just for the hype video and that not actually be the way they are doing it. So no one be surprised when the ropes are still connected and it takes less than 5 mins to set it all up.

Just to temper some of yalls expectations lol... they pulled Brock's merch months ago when his deal expired. The same was true with Sting, once his contract ended WWE pulled his merch because they no longer had legal standing to sell it. Just because those two facts are true, doesn't mean that someone's merch being pulled means they are definitely going somewhere else. Case in point, plenty of Big Show merch still available on WWE Shop right now. Don't work yourself into a shoot over t-shirts brother. ?

I don't consider Memphis or World Class national brands. WCCW had national tv through syndication but didn't tour outside of their small regional territory. Memphis didn't tour nor did they have national TV. I do count the AWA as a national brand. But those 3 merging their titles didn't last long and basically amounted to just an angle / story line. AWA pulled out of the merger pretty quick and farted around with it on Zybysco forever. So no to USWA / WCCW / Global from my perspective. I know these are all just arbitrary distinctions lol. But trying to explain my logic none the less.

Disagree on it being a shot at WWE. It stands for "No More Big Show" right? Sure "No More Bull Shit" is a cutesy double entendre most people will associate with it. But he's not rejecting how WWE treated him. It's just a fun way of saying oh shit I can't be Big Show anymore. I haven't been a fan of the casino royale format, but this one is just straight royal rumble rules. Every 90 seconds a new team enters. So at least this one should be a little more palatable.

Someone else here made a guess that I'm almost certain fits in this spot. My guess is:

The Brodie tribute was a genuinely touching little detail. I have no idea what came up with it and honestly don't care, just happy to see it. That table bump... fuuckkkk. No one can say he mailed it in. I thought it was solid. One or two minor clunky exchanges with the women, understandable when someone is legitimately working their first match ever. Did notice Bryce having to tell Shaq to go back to the corner and wait for the right time for the table spot lol. Thumbs up from me. Didn't quite reach Mayweather or McAfee. But Shaq is up there for celebrity matches all time. Funny other little thing I noticed, Tall Paul came out to what they use as the promo music for Dark. So I'm sure they have Mikey Ruckus working on something for him but it's not ready yet. I have two guess for the "Hall Of Fame Worthy" debut Sunday. Gonna spoil them just in case. Neither is top tier. But both are favorites of the board and would be well liked here: Do not expect Cena. Do not expect The Rock. Do not expect CM Punk. Just trying to temper everyone's expectations lol.

Tully also wrestled nationally against Stan Lane on PPV in 1999 for... Heroes of Wrestling ?

(cross posting from the NXT thread to get more eyeballs) The Network is showing a Takeover on Thursday April 8th as an incentive not to cancel if you go to the cancellation screen. Makes sense in the overall picture, a last minute test for an exclusive Peacock PPV. But man Wrestlemania week(s) is gonna be just way overkill this year. Mon April 5th | Raw go home show Wed April 7th | NXT go home show Thu April 8th | NXT Takeover Fri April 9th | Smackdown go home show Sat April 10th | Wrestlemania Night 1 Sun April 11th | Wrestlemania Night 2 Mon April 12th | Raw after Wrestlemania Tue April 13th | NXT after Takeover **(rumored Tuesday night move starts here)** Fri April 16th | Smackdown after Wrestlemania

The Network is showing a Takeover on Thursday April 8th as an incentive not to cancel if you go to the cancellation screen. Makes sense in the overall picture, a last minute test for an exclusive Peacock PPV. But man Wrestlemania week(s) is gonna be just way overkill this year. Mon April 5th | Raw go home show Wed April 7th | NXT go home show Thu April 8th | NXT Takeover Fri April 9th | Smackdown go home show Sat April 10th | Wrestlemania Night 1 Sun April 11th | Wrestlemania Night 2 Mon April 12th | Raw after Wrestlemania Tue April 13th | NXT after Takeover **(rumored Tuesday night move starts here)** Fri April 16th | Smackdown after Wrestlemania

Yeah I totally agree. All WWE is guilty of here is saying yes when someone said 'hey man want a billion dollars' lol. It's such a clusterfuck. Like, is WWE going to keep accepting auto payments from people in The United States? Are we gonna be able to use the old back door with an international VPN? Or are they going to cancel everyone from The United States' accounts automatically? We are two weeks away and the answer to all the logistics questions are just gifs of people shrugging and cats slapping the camera.

It's hard to be negative about the move when you're getting the entire Peacock catalog along with The Network for the price we already pay (or less if you don't care about ads). But this is starting to give me bad vibes. Instead of having a way to migrate your account over, they're just saying screw off and sign up on your own you lazy fuck? I am 99% sure the functionality we all enjoy is going to be gone. Say goodbye to the really well done search feature & starting a live event from the beginning. If they're being this lazy about sign ups, they are definitely not adding the bells and whistles we're used to. Corporate American strikes again.

Right. I don't consider Memphis or World Class national brands for the reasons I described above. I do count the AWA as a national brand. But them merging their title didn't last long and basically amounted to just an angle / story line. They pulled out of the merger and farted around with it on Zybysco forever. ECW was a national brand, even when revived in WWE. So for the purpose of my list, regardless if they used "World" or "Heavyweight" for the title's name, it's still a world title (the top title of a national brand). I know these are all just arbitrary distinctions lol. But trying to explain my logic none the less.

Next up is the Borne Again shtick, where he covers his face in Doink face paint and hopes no one notices.

For the purpose of my list, I wouldn't count either of those titles. Wouldn't count Global Wrestling Federation who technically had a national TV deal through ESPN either. Have to be a national promotion that had TV available everywhere at one point, and ran events in more than just one local territory or area. Not just localized to one region with tv only airing in that region. So two qualifiers. Also just naming your title "world title" isn't the same thing. USWA was essentially just a Tennessee indy / territory. WCCW had national TV (like GWF) but they never ran events outside of their localized area / territory. It's know it's all arbitrary, but that's how I'm defining it.

Cross posting this from the Raw thread because I thought it was interesting. I'm very surprised to see the totals are still so low for African American World Champions in wrestling. WWE Championship (3): The Rock | Kofi Kingston | Bobby Lashley WCW World Title (3): Ron Simmons | Booker T | The Rock WWE World Heavyweight Title (2): Booker T | Mark Henry ECW World Title (2): Bobby Lashley | Ezekial Jackson Impact World Title (2): Bobby Lashley | Rich Swann NXT World Title (2): Big E | Keith Lee IWGP Heavyweight Title (1): Bob Sapp ROH World Title (1): Jay Lethal NWA World Title (1): R-Truth WWE Universal Title (0): AEW World Title (0): AWA World Title (0): -Bobby Lashley is the first African American pro wrestler to hold three different world titles. (For the purpose of this list 'World Title' means the top title of a national wrestling brand). There's a legitimate argument for him being one of the most successful African American pro wrestlers of all time. -The WWE Championship is now tied with the WCW World Title for having the most African American champions at 3.

When was the last time a Raw thread hit 4 pages in less than a day? I have a feeling they get a better than normal number. The combination of a close to sure thing title change, mixed with them stringing along the bait & switches all night. They did the right thing and I think everyone universally agrees on that. I did tune in live for the main event which is something I haven't done in awhile. I too am jaded, because I was sure they were gonna have Braun interrupt and string out Lashley's win until Fastlane. Pleasantly surprised. My main take away from the main event (besides being happy the best act on the show finally has the top title) is that... this is the worst Raw roster in the history of the brand split. That dawned on me when such a weak ass crew of lumberjacks came out. They held 4 of the top 5 (Drew, Sheamus, Orton, Fiend). Retribution, Lucha House Party, Elias / Ryker, Braun, Jeff Hardy, Matt Riddle, Humberto, & John Morrision? That's the nucleus of your roster? Fucking YIKES. Weak as fuck. Also, two nerdy world title history revelations with Lashley's title win... 1. Bobby Lashley is the first African American pro wrestler to hold three different world titles. (For the purpose of this list 'World Title' means the top title of a national wrestling brand). There's a legitimate argument for him being one of the most successful African American pro wrestlers of all time. 2. The WWE Championship is now tied with the WCW World Title for having the most African American champions at 3. WWE Championship (3): The Rock | Kofi Kingston | Bobby Lashley WCW World Title (3): Ron Simmons | Booker T | The Rock WWE World Heavyweight Title (2): Booker T | Mark Henry ECW World Title (2): Bobby Lashley | Ezekial Jackson Impact World Title (2): Bobby Lashley | Rich Swann NXT World Title (2): Big E | Keith Lee IWGP Heavyweight Title (1): Bob Sapp ROH World Title (1): Jay Lethal NWA World Title (1): R-Truth WWE Universal Title (0): AEW World Title (0): AWA World Title (0):

There's nothing wrong with not enjoying Conrad or his style. You're allowed to like what you like. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, rather just add a perspective I don't think is getting represented in the discussion. The inorganic catch phrases you hate. If every post you made on this board were super popular to the point you sold 10,000 shirts every time you made a catch phrase... you'd probably keep doing it too lol. Right? I mean it would be one thing if they did all this inorganic shit for nothing. But they are rolling in bank. When people stop buying the shirts he will stop hawking catch phrases. I can't begrudge him for that. And agreeing with your main point, he *is* a carny salesman. He runs a mortgage company. That's only like half a rung under insurance salesman lol. But he will never try and get a job with WWE or AEW. Because he would have to take a six or seven digit pay cut. He's super successful with the mortgages and the podcast stuff. So that, I don't think, is his goal. Just trying to maybe give you a different pov to view it from. Not trying to change your mind. I didn't jump on Conrad podcasts until a few years in. So I probably missed the worst of it. I also avoid the Schivonne podcast all together because I don't find anything useful there. Its three hours of small dick jokes and not a lot of wrestling knowledge added. So I see where you're coming from. I do Love 83 Weeks & STW tho. Arn & JR are hit & miss for me.

I am totally fine with New Japan merging the IWGP & IC titles. But they're replacing the best current belt in all of wrestling with a new design???

100% agree with that theory. History is written by the victors. WWE has reshaped the narrative of wrestling history and there hasn't been anyone able to stand up and say wait a minute your cooperate approved re-imagining of history isn't quite accurate. There's a whole generation of fans that have grown up with WWE being wrestling. WWE is the NFL or NBA to anyone born after 2000. To that end, I think a lot of wrestlers from previous generations aren't too thrilled with that. Sting specifically strikes me as someone that held out because he didn't enjoy WWE the machine. And I think his perspective after finally giving in and having such a nothing run there has only galvanized. Big Show strikes me as that sort of wrestler too. No one can tell me in the back of his head it doesn't annoy him that the cooperate approved re-imagining of his career is that he came over from WCW and was green as goose shit and got fat and lazy and had to do a year in OVW because he was such a bust. Joining AEW gives guys like that, that had a history previous to WWE, the chance to take control of their own narrative again. And at the very least try and help bring back professional wrestling as it existed before the Thanos snap (WWE buying WCW & ECW). And by that I mean things like in WWE you are not allowed to talk directly into the camera. Think Harlem Heat in WCW. They talked trash straight into the camera during their entrance. That shit was awesome. But that's become an official banned action. There's tons of shit that were a part of the fabric of pro wrestling like that, that was lost to time because that's not what WWE wants. I feel like that ended up much less coherent than your point but I took a swing at it lol.

Yes, I agree. But in my jaded mind what's the point of wasting that spot on regular roster member? There won't be any follow up. There won't actually be any rub because it won't be referenced ever again. We know the drill. So like would it actually matter if Strowman or Big E or Ricochet or Adam Cole or Toni Storm or Malcom Bivens were in that spot??? How did it work out for Alex Riley managing Miz in the main event of a Wrestlemania? So to me, this spot makes way more sense for a nostalgia pop than say bringing Goldberg in for a match that fucking sucks. Ya know? But in a properly booked, well functioning company, you are 100% correct.

Pure speculation here. But they are pretty open about wanting to be different than WWE. WWE only uses current people under contract or a pool of certain legends under legend's contracts. I'm thinking, before the rona, they were purposely trying to set themselves apart by allowing weird random cameos you wouldn't expect. But it did tie into the story. And they did mention him on commentary in passing. He did lead a cult faction in WCW. It fit in as a red herring.

No that's not what everyone else is thinking ?. I like you making wild fun predictions. That's what being a fan is about. But if they sign a name as big as Punk and stuff him in a random ladder match for a shot at the midcard title, this company is doomed to fail. I personally don't think they would do that. I don't think anyone else, at least that posts here, thinks that either. Sure I think it's possible they could sign Punk. But they would put him in a personal conflict vs Cody over being pissed off about disrespect, or they would have him immediately jump to front of the line and challenge Omega for a big first time ever dream match. They aint sticking him in a random ladder match where he plays second banana to 5 other midcarders. Punk proabaly wouldnt even come back to WWE without a guarantee of main eventing a lWrestlemania. You really think he's down to debut in the number two promotion in the middle of the card in a throw away ladder match?

Allow me to blow your minds here... So Jimmy Usso comes back to help Reigns retain at Fastlane. Edge s outnumbered 3-1. Obviously that pulls Christian into having his back. They talk about having someone to even the odds at Wrestlemania. Reigns & Usos out first. It's time for Edge to come out. The lights go off. All of sudden the stage is on fire. Then the best theme song of all time hits and The Brood rises out of the stage. Gangrel spits the blood into the air. Then you can go into Edge's normal music kicking in and the sides are even. Tell me The Brood with a suppued up Wrestlemana entrance and Ganrel's music wouldn't get a big pop. I don't care if Gangrel in and of himself isn't seen as a big deal. That's a cool full circle moment that fits the current story. The Bloodline vs The Brood dawg, book that shit on the Smackdown after Mania as a one off too.