Wrestling Entertainment - we know, you don't have to tell us!

[Bigdoggsteel]

3 minutes ago, DE. said:

6 minutes is about right for a Brock Lesnar match. The guy gets blown up so easily in a competitive match. You could see at the end of his match with AJ Styles a few months ago he was totally out on his feet.

Reigns is decent but his booking has been horrific. WWE have made him into the next John Cena, which has its good and its bad points. Fact is WWE doesn't care what the fans want anymore, much like Premier League clubs the TV deal the WWE now has rules over everything else. 

NXT Takeover was the best show of the weekend by far. Watching the Takeover shows is a real privilege and it's hard to believe it comes under the WWE umbrella at times. 

I watched some of Richoets matches whilst in Lucha underground playing Prince Puma. My god that guy can go. I remember watching one completely engrossed a few months back. It was one of the things that got me back in to wrestling. The stuff he does would have your jaw on the floor. He can do the grapply stuff, but also this unique high flying stuff. A serious athlete 

[DE.]

18 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

I watched some of Richoets matches whilst in Lucha underground playing Prince Puma. My god that guy can go. I remember watching one completely engrossed a few months back. It was one of the things that got me back in to wrestling. The stuff he does would have your jaw on the floor. He can do the grapply stuff, but also this unique high flying stuff. A serious athlete 

Yeah Ricochet is awesome. His 630 splash is just ridiculous. 

There's really nothing bad I can say about NXT. The wrestlers are the best of the best from the independents, the music is almost always awesome, the crowd is awesome, the commentary is awesome (Ranello in particular is a thousand times better than Michael Cole), the storylines are simple but done very well, the matches are laid out to showcase the performers strengths as opposed to forcing them into a specific style, the shows are very reasonable in length (an hour for the main show and two and a half hours PPV)... I can't think of a single negative thing about NXT. It's just a shame when wrestlers get called up to the main roster, as you know Vince will ruin them. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

5 minutes ago, DE. said:

Yeah Ricochet is awesome. His 630 splash is just ridiculous. 

There's really nothing bad I can say about NXT. The wrestlers are the best of the best from the independents, the music is almost always awesome, the crowd is awesome, the commentary is awesome (Ranello in particular is a thousand times better than Michael Cole), the storylines are simple but done very well, the matches are laid out to showcase the performers strengths as opposed to forcing them into a specific style, the shows are very reasonable in length (an hour for the main show and two and a half hours PPV)... I can't think of a single negative thing about NXT. It's just a shame when wrestlers get called up to the main roster, as you know Vince will ruin them. 

So much potential and talent in Smackdown and Raw, but it's being run very badly. A glimmer of improvement this week mind. Lets see though. 

I watched a doc last week by Jeremy Borash called Forever hardcore. It is free to watch on YouTube. Really interesting, it's based on interviews with old ECW guys. I would describe it is as warts and all, in a good way. New Jack genuinely scared me.  

Edited August 22, 2018 by Bigdoggsteel

[DE.]

19 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

So much potential and talent in Smackdown and Raw, but it's being run very badly. A glimmer of improvement this week mind. Lets see though. 

I watched a doc last week by Jeremy Borash called Forever hardcore. It is free to watch on YouTube. Really interesting, it's based on interviews with old ECW guys. I would describe it is as warts and all, in a good way. New Jack genuinely scared me.  

As long as Vince continues to run Raw/Smackdown it's hopeless imo. He's so out of touch with the audience that anything he gets right is done purely through chance, and he finds a way to take it downhill very quickly. Triple H in comparison clearly has his finger on the pulse of the modern wrestling fan (non-casual) and has tailored NXT to suit that demographic in every possible way. The more hardcore fans then get the more casual fans excited about the NXT prospects, which ultimately leads to big reactions when they get called up to the main roster.

Then they get Vince'd and within six months are getting no reactions and doing stupid comedy mid-card nonsense.

[Bigdoggsteel]

17 minutes ago, DE. said:

As long as Vince continues to run Raw/Smackdown it's hopeless imo. He's so out of touch with the audience that anything he gets right is done purely through chance, and he finds a way to take it downhill very quickly. Triple H in comparison clearly has his finger on the pulse of the modern wrestling fan (non-casual) and has tailored NXT to suit that demographic in every possible way. The more hardcore fans then get the more casual fans excited about the NXT prospects, which ultimately leads to big reactions when they get called up to the main roster.

Then they get Vince'd and within six months are getting no reactions and doing stupid comedy mid-card nonsense.

AOP being the most recent casualties. The guys look like beasts, get built up as monsters on NXT and win the tag titles. Next thing they get called up to the main roster and are losing to Apollo worldwide on a weekly basis. It is pointless. You would wonder if it's deliberate from Vince, maybe he doesn't want the limelight taken. 

[DE.]

3 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

AOP being the most recent casualties. The guys look like beasts, get built up as monsters on NXT and win the tag titles. Next thing they get called up to the main roster and are losing to Apollo worldwide on a weekly basis. It is pointless. You would wonder if it's deliberate from Vince, maybe he doesn't want the limelight taken. 

I honestly just think he's stuck in his ways. I doubt he pays much attention to NXT - but he can even have super-over performers fall into his lap  on the main roster and find ways to bury them just because he personally doesn't like something about them. Daniel Bryan was purposefully sabotaged over and over again, and only an absolutely insane crowd reaction to Bryan combined with absolute rejection of the likes of Orton and Batista headlining WM30 got Bryan to where he always should have been.

Rusev is another example of somebody who got himself over organically but because it wasn't Vince's idea he just buries Rusev in stupid programs, instead of feeding that organic reaction as he did during the Monday Night Wars. If Stone Cold and the Rock had come through in modern times they would probably have never gotten away from The Ringmaster and "happy guy" Rocky Maivia gimmicks. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

3 minutes ago, DE. said:

I honestly just think he's stuck in his ways. I doubt he pays much attention to NXT - but he can even have super-over performers fall into his lap  on the main roster and find ways to bury them just because he personally doesn't like something about them. Daniel Bryan was purposefully sabotaged over and over again, and only an absolutely insane crowd reaction to Bryan combined with absolute rejection of the likes of Orton and Batista headlining WM30 got Bryan to where he always should have been.

Rusev is another example of somebody who got himself over organically but because it wasn't Vince's idea he just buries Rusev in stupid programs, instead of feeding that organic reaction as he did during the Monday Night Wars. If Stone Cold and the Rock had come through in modern times they would probably have never gotten away from The Ringmaster and "happy guy" Rocky Maivia gimmicks. 

The Monday night wars, those were the days. 

[Mike E]

Current NXT reminds me of that brief transition period between Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era, where the storylines made complete sense, characters had reasons for their actions, and the wrestlers were talented as hell.

Guererro, Angle, Jericho, Malenko, Benoit, Taker, Kane and a bunch of others forming a solid midcard under the stars of Rock, Stone Cold. Not firgetting the tag team scene being st it's peak with the Dudleys, Hardys, E&C, APA.

Everything done for a reason.

[Vinjay]

The Attitude Era wasn't some staid, corporate, watered down environment. NXT to an extent could be seen as building more corporate puppets for control though not to the extent of what's being done with the women. There was no transition period and arguably no such era as "ruthless aggression" in my position which isn't to say it was bad. It was certainly far better than the current product which is just tiring to watch (and I usually don't) and stuff like the bloody "Hell in a Cell" logo is seen through by me in an instant. Wouldn't entirely rule it out (they can use fake blood not blading) and without wishing to seem like a vampire why do that sort of match without blood? I would rather scrap it than present something which is blatantly watered down (which they somehow achieved with an inferno match guess "first nosebleed" is the only thing still on the list) but I'll admit spectacle sometimes works out even without much substance. I don't mind cage matches but would rather they used the old "bar" cage than present watered down stuff and put all focus on winning by escape. There's no point doing regular mesh cage when the cell is around. Didn't Owens do a big fall from the top of a regular mesh cage recently as well?

Benoit and Malenko drew sod all unless you count tons of negative publicity in the former's case. The Attitude Era also had certain intangibles which were so organic such as Vince turning heel on WWE television after 25+ years. Also there isn't as much stuff compared to them that hasn't been done though it's unfair to cast blame for that. Turn Cena heel? Not sure how they would explain it at this point and it's nothing like that. Hogan turning heel wasn't quite at Vince level (since they never really discussed turning Vince heel until shortly beforehand and mentioning his brief stint on Memphis Tv is a little pedantic albeit accurate) and what kind of background story do most wrestlers have now? It's not entirely their fault but it's less interesting than the background wrestlers had when WCW and before that territories etc were still around. While the WWE are certainly profitable it's not exactly seen as a "boom period" is it? I don't think wrestlers being so open on twitter, etc essentially hurts (though like Mick Foley I implore the Undertaker not to join twitter lol) but wrestling still has more emphasis on "in character" than most forms of entertainment.

Are they still doing pink rope month? If it coincides with the cell show again can't they remove it for that one event lol? Nothing say hell like a pink rope! The only time a cage should have pink in is if somebody copies Bret Hart's ring gear.

Edited August 26, 2018 by Vinjay17

[DE.]

On 25/08/2018 at 11:22, Mike E said:

Current NXT reminds me of that brief transition period between Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era, where the storylines made complete sense, characters had reasons for their actions, and the wrestlers were talented as hell.

Guererro, Angle, Jericho, Malenko, Benoit, Taker, Kane and a bunch of others forming a solid midcard under the stars of Rock, Stone Cold. Not firgetting the tag team scene being st it's peak with the Dudleys, Hardys, E&C, APA.

Everything done for a reason.

NXT is basically the best of independent wrestling. It also takes the really good parts of NJPW and ROH, usually using wrestlers that have come from those organisations. Funnily enough during the Attitude Era WWE took the best of ECW and WCW and made it better, again often using talent taken from those companies. Main roster WWE (Raw & Smackdown) has nothing to draw inspiration from except itself, which is basically Vince's idea of how wrestling should be. It's fair to say the industry has largely passed him by and because he has no serious competition he can afford for the product to be stale. CM Punk's pipe bomb promo from 2011 rings as true today than it did back then. 

On 26/08/2018 at 19:45, Vinjay17 said:

The Attitude Era wasn't some staid, corporate, watered down environment. NXT to an extent could be seen as building more corporate puppets for control though not to the extent of what's being done with the women.

I actually disagree, and it's imo one of the biggest problems with NXT. It doesn't prepare the talent for the main roster because it's absolutely nothing like Raw or Smackdown. It's why so many NXT call ups end up buried. I wouldn't want NXT to be like Raw or Smackdown, for the record, but as a developmental system for talent to be called up to the main roster it's no good. Fortunately it regularly produces some of the best wrestling in the world, particularly during the Takeover events. I just wish the main products were a lot more like NXT. 

On 26/08/2018 at 19:45, Vinjay17 said:

Didn't Owens do a big fall from the top of a regular mesh cage recently as well?

Yeah and imo it was a stupid idea. Granted there was a crash pad under the table, but still, the risk outweighed any positives. We've already established Braun is a monster who's out to torment Owens. We didn't need an unnecessarily risky cage fall to hammer that point home - particularly as Owens has repeatedly been shown to be no match for Strowman. Like everything else in WWE nowadays it was just a "moment" with no real substance.

On 26/08/2018 at 19:45, Vinjay17 said:

Turn Cena heel? Not sure how they would explain it at this point and it's nothing like that.

The time to turn Cena heel was years ago. Pre-2010. Absolutely no point doing it now. He's not relevant enough anymore for it to matter. It's ironic though - WWE has been doing everything possible to get Roman Reigns cheered, without realising that turning him heel would probably end up making him a face. It's just further proof that Vince doesn't understand the audience any more. A heel Roman Reigns would initially get nuclear heat but if done right I'm positive he'd soon be cheered. The anti-hero will always be far more over than the white-meat babyface. Roman has improved so much over the past couple of years that it's a genuine shame he's still being handicapped by ridiculously bad booking decisions.

On 26/08/2018 at 19:45, Vinjay17 said:

(though like Mick Foley I implore the Undertaker not to join twitter lol)

He's not on twitter yet but he is on instagram! https://www.instagram.com/undertaker/?hl=en

[DE.]

As an aside I watched "All In" yesterday and thought it was pretty good. There were some minor production issues but I think I only noticed them because WWE's production is so slick and well done these days. By any other standards it was still very good. 

I don't watch the "Be the Elite" stuff on YouTube so a lot of the storyline elements went over my head a little. I thought the "Hangman" Adam Page stuff was weird and the inflatable penises and general Joey Ryan stuff all felt a bit cringeworthy. That said the crowd were obviously digging it so I can't really call it a negative, just something I personally felt was unnecessary. 

In general the matches were really good. The women's four way was solid, Page Vs Janela was a very entertaining brawl, Cody Vs Aldis brought prestige back to an NWA title that had been long dead, Omega Vs Pentagon Jr was superb, Okada Vs Scurll really got going towards the end (although they apparently went 12 minutes over which contributed to the main event being cut seriously short) and the six man tag at the end was incredible despite being cut from 28 minutes to just 12. Rey Mysterio looks better than he has in years. 

All In was a seriously impressive achievement from Cody and the Young Bucks. The first time since 1993 that a company that isn't WWE or WCW has drawn a crowd of 10,000+. I hope they can keep the momentum going as it can only be positive for the overall scene. If wrestlers feel like there's viable alternatives to WWE then maybe they won't put up with the bullshit they're currently subjected to in Stanford. 

[Vinjay]

Sold out MSG correct? How many were comps? That said it's incredible that that many would attend even if all the tickets were free. Don't know how the hell they managed it will have to do some reading up on the whole thing. I think ECW's record (original obviously) might have been 6k or 7k. Was that non WWE 1993 show by any chance the Mexican promotion AAA? Sure I recall they drew a large crowd in Los Angeles around that time period.

[DE.]

I think it probably was AAA. They had some incredibly popular shows in the US in the early 90s, I think there was a large Hispanic audience there. That said CMLL tried the same thing and didn't get the same traction. 

All In was totally paid as far as I'm aware. It was at the Sears Centre in Chicago. The event sold out in 30 minutes. It's made enough of an impact to break WWE's 30 year stranglehold on MSG. ROH have it booked now on the back of All In's momentum. You could argue All In made more of a mark in one night than TNA ever did, even at their peak in the late 2000s. 

[Vinjay]

27 minutes ago, DE. said:

I think it probably was AAA. They had some incredibly popular shows in the US in the early 90s, I think there was a large Hispanic audience there. That said CMLL tried the same thing and didn't get the same traction. 

All In was totally paid as far as I'm aware. The event sold out in 30 minutes. It's made enough of an impact to break WWE's 30 year stranglehold on MSG. You could argue All In made more of a mark in one night than TNA ever did, even at their peak in the late 2000s. 

Yes I know there's a considerable Hispanic population in Los Angeles ?.  Apparently if you mention the name El Santo in Mexico his level of name recognition makes Dwayne Johnson look minor in comparison. Maybe there's some genius marketing NJPW certainly seen nothing marketing wise from ROH that explains that kind of crowd. I didn't think Jim Ross doing commentary on their US shows would have had this level of impact! ? Or Dave Meltzer breaking his star barrier for every Omega vs (who was it?) match. I watched one of them (first one I think) and didn't see why it merited 6 stars compared to some of those rated 5. Of course I haven't seen every single one besides those in WWE. I think the last one he rated 5 (in WWE) was Cena v Punk and didn't think it any better than that. Of course I've seen some of Ric Flair's stuff in the 80's. Pace is a bit too slow for my liking (in some cases it's too fast like a lot of this flippy independent stuff but fast paced brawling is usually good) but obviously things have changed since then. 

Not saying I have no interest in the matches but don't think any match on Raw should be longer than 12 minutes. That would only be the main event too if a match closed the show and even then it wouldn't always be 12 minutes. Admittedly if I was writing the show it would be 3 hours of 98/99 style (and to an extent 2000/01) mayhem and carnage that stuff never really got old for me. Better than watering stuff down that's for sure.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Vinjay17

[DE.]

2 minutes ago, Vinjay17 said:

Yes I know there's a considerable Hispanic population in Los Angeles ?.  Apparently if you mention the name El Santo in Mexico his level of name recognition makes Dwayne Johnson look minor in comparison. Maybe there's some genius marketing NJPW certainly seen nothing marketing wise from ROH that explains that kind of crowd. I didn't think Jim Ross doing commentary on their US shows would have had this level of impact! ? Or Dave Meltzer breaking his star barrier for every Omega vs (who was it?) match. I watched one of them (first one I think) and didn't see why it merited 6 stars compared to some of those rated 5. Of course I haven't seen every single one besides those in WWE. I think the last one he rated 5 (in WWE) was Cena v Punk and didn't think it any better than that. Of course I've seen some of Ric Flair's stuff in the 80's. Pace is a bit too slow for my liking (in some cases it's too fast like a lot of this flippy independent stuff but fast paced brawling is usually good) but obviously things have changed since then. 

NJPW's recent surge in popularity has been built on the back of Okada, Naito and Omega. The three of them have been outstanding over the past couple of years and really put NJPW back on the map after a number of years in the wilderness. Guys like AJ Styles and Cody have come through and made an impact too, as well as the Bullet Club stable which is essentially the modern day nWo/DX. As with any company on the rise it's just a combination of factors all coming together at once to create a real sense of momentum. I don't watch NJPW regularly but I've caught the last few Wrestle Kingdom events and the production is on par with WWE, whilst the wrestling and storylines are way better, even with a lot of it being in Japanese. They've made their stars feel huge, and even the undercard wrestlers are made to feel like the next big thing. ROH haven't done anything special but they are benefiting hugely from their ties to the rapidly rising NJPW wave and association with hot indy acts like Cody, the Young Bucks, Colt Cabana, and even historical connections with the likes of Styles, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and so on. Most of WWE's biggest names nowadays got their first major exposure in ROH, and with fans being smarter and more interested nowadays it only makes sense that a portion of WWE fans end up checking out promotions like ROH to see what all the hype is about.

Meltzer definitely has a soft spot for Omega and the Young Bucks. Hell, the latter have named their finisher after him (the Meltzer driver). It's funny because if you listen to Dave when the Bucks were in TNA as Generation Me he has no real love for them, but obviously over the last few years that's changed a lot. In all honesty the Omega/Okada matches have been incredible. I don't have much of an opinion on his star ratings but the effort and commitment from Omega to make every match a stand out is very commendable. Okada has the look and presence of a superstar which obviously helps. Naito is right up there too, although he's scaled back a bit since losing his feud to Okada. 

I don't really watch old school wrestling for the same reason - too slow and it looks antiquated compared to the performances now. In their day those matches were something special for sure, but as with most things age takes its toll. Things that were unique and new back then are common place now. Fans expect and receive more than was needed back then. WWE doesn't seem to have grasped that yet, which is why NJPW may have a chance to establish a real foothold in the modern landscape. Or they'll go the way of AAA in the 90's and fade back into relative obscurity, still popular in their own country but with little international presence. The big advantage NJPW has now is the internet and the ease of access to footage across the world. Back in the 90s AAA didn't have that advantage.  

[Vinjay]

Pointless (and not very fun) fact: Vince Russo's references to "Meltzer Magoo" was my inspiration for "Mowbray Magoo". I haven't called him that for months though to be fair when the promotion challenge really started picking up steam...

Edited September 3, 2018 by Vinjay17

[DE.]

Do you subscribe to the Observer? If you're interested in the history of the business it's a real goldmine. All of the back issues up until about 2001 are available, and there's some really great stuff there, especially from the 90s. If you want to get up to speed on NJPW and ROH Meltzer and Alvarez are a great source of info too. Their radio shows are pretty entertaining too. I'll end my Observer plug there, but definitely recommended if you aren't a subscriber! 

[Vinjay]

I've been a member on the website before but never subscribed to print. Back issues mostly but there's only so many of those isn't there? Meltzer is fine in some aspects (as is Keller) but Alvarez is an obnoxious prat.

Edited September 3, 2018 by Vinjay17

[DE.]

I think they've uploaded a ton more back issues in the last couple of years. There's roughly 52 per year up until 2001, I think they're planning to continue uploading until the full set is there. It'll take a while though. 

I find Alvarez pretty funny, he's okay as long as you don't take him too seriously. His gimmick is basically being an angry fanboy and on occasion he does pull Dave up on being biased or contradictory about things. That said I found it hilarious that he refused to criticise any of the nonsense at All In, considering he'd crucify WWE for pulling some of those stunts. 

I subscribed to the Torch years ago (around 2008-2009) but I found a lot of the columnists to be kind of annoying so dropped it in the end. Keller seems like a decent guy though and I'd say his opinions are a bit more balanced than Dave, who has a heavy bias towards Japanese wrestling. 

[Vinjay]

I haven't subscribed for a while. The Torch does lack some Japanese wrestling coverage but it's not like I've ever followed it closely. I think Keller was a bit annoyed because (might have been Meltzer) made the distinction of New York Times (Observer) and New York Post (Torch). The NY Times of course being seen as more prestigious but I don't mind redtop/tabloid journalism in some ways. It's got it's upsides and it's downsides. I'm not really interested in comparing Meltzer and Keller (though obviously the former was first and Keller like many subscribed to the Observer before he started his own newsletter) but Alvarez really is a prat. He was attacking the WWE's 1998 shows as "no good" he's got a vendetta against Russo, etc. OK so does Cornette (understatement) and while that bothers me I actually like him and would prefer listening to him over Alvarez on most things. I don't dislike Paul Heyman but you never hear a word from him on how Heyman was lousy on the business end of things at times. It didn't help ECW it hindered it though obviously he's the one who pretty much elevated it in first place so...

Meltzer of course prefers more wrestling (hence what's seen as his Japanese bias) but at least he's a bit fairer even if he didn't like the lack of emphasis on lengthier matches during that period. Nobody would say Raw had an abundance of great technical wrestling during that time though at that point it was alsp the only real presentation I knew. I don't mind longer matches (not like I hated Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, etc even if I actually only caught the end of Bret's WWE run and didn't watch WCW besides that Channel 5 farce) but they shouldn't be on Raw. 

I prefer Russo's shows and if you watch the recaps of the old Raw shows he wrote I agree with practically all of it. His analysis makes so much sense and people say the guy knows nothing? Rubbish. His 98/99 stuff had the right balance between regular matches and gimmick matches. That period for me gets nothing but the utmost praise only Breaking Bad comes close albeit different type of show. Maybe later on he went a bit more overboard at times but WCW 2000 is a better watch than much of what is put out now. Still haven't watched all of it or really watched any older shows for several weeks. Maybe I ought to get back to it. How anyone can think today's product is better is beyond me. 

I want to watch and like it. Not moan about it. Obviously my philosophies are not "workrate" and salivating over overrated "stars" like Owens but I can't watch 3 hours of this stuff. Don't think I watched one episode of Raw all year. Obviously I'm not a child now but missing an episode in 98/99 was devastating. It's unfortunate to lose so much interest in a show. Guess it reflects my football viewership in a way not that my disgust and frustration with wrestling comes close to those levels. Though I would say in the 90's (by that I mean 1997 to 99 because 97 is when I started watching it becoming subscribed to Sky Sports helped) wrestling was the highlight above anything else. Even football and I certainly didn't lack enthusiasm then. Of course I was aware that wrestling existed before that but my exposure was basically one video game. Which was a bit dated by 1997 so certainly didn't expect the swearing, violence, etc when I started watching actual real life shows. Obviously didn't put me off though! Lol. 

The Undertaker's wrestling next month isn't he? Might watch that. Really should have watched the Cena/Rusev stuff never know when his last might be. 

Edited September 3, 2018 by Vinjay17

[Bigdoggsteel]

If you like old school wrestling I highly recommend checking out the youtube channel "Wrestling with Wregret" with Brian Zane. It is quality. He reviews old PPVs in a very informative, but light and entertaining way. He also covers up to date stuff and generally all things wrestling. Well worth a look 

[DE.]

Wrestling with Wregret is fantastic. I've pretty much watched everything on Zane's channel! His movie reviews are great as well. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

On 04/09/2018 at 19:34, DE. said:

Wrestling with Wregret is fantastic. I've pretty much watched everything on Zane's channel! His movie reviews are great as well. 

Deadly isn't it?  Fair play to the guy. The hero we didn't even know we needed 

[DE.]

So apparently Fulham's owner is in talks to start a new wrestling promotion in the States...

https://prowrestling.net/site/2018/10/19/nfl-family-reportedly-behind-a-new-startup-pro-wrestling-project-involving-cody-young-bucks-chris-jericho-jim-ross-and-others/

Possible reason why he suddenly pulled out of the Wembley deal? It would take a ton of money to try and compete with WWE at this point. If they had the likes of Jericho, JR, Goldberg, the Bucks, Cody, Omega, Adam Page then that could be pretty awesome though. If it does come to fruition (I doubt it will, but if) then I can see WWE throwing some hefty offers to anybody credible to ensure Khan's promotion had very little to choose from. It's basically what they did to World of Sport here in the UK, buying up all the decent UK talent and then essentially putting the lot of them on ice. With Vince starting up the XFL and his eye being off the proverbial ball, as far as the wrestling industry goes, this could be a good time to strike...

[DE.]

Roman Reigns diagnosed with leukemia for the second time, having first had it when he was 22. He's now 33. Really sad stuff. In the modern era it's the equivalent of the Rock or Stone Cold announcing this back in the Attitude Era. Roman is the guy as far as WWE are concerned and who they've essentially built the entire company around. It was surreal to watch last night - he came out to the usual boos, but as soon as he announced he had leukemia the crowd went completely silent. Hopefully he can get past this and get himself back in the ring again.