WWE Spring Cleaning 2021 - Braun Strowman, Aliester Black, Buddy Murphy & More

CastorTroy

PTH2009 wrote: »

Amazed 205 live is still a thing

And Main Event. Ali and Ricochet had a series of matches on there that I think I saw somewhere were getting good reviews. Haven't watched them.
Of course, it might've helped if they mentioned Main Event on the main shows. Seems Ali suggested the matches to keep him busy if not being used on TV.

Agent Coulson

Tommy End did an hours Q&A on Thea's Twitch stream last night.

He said the last two years were like a slow death, He was told the merch was sell well and his numbers were good however whatever ideas he came up with were just really ignored.

Agent Coulson

I must say I'm surprised Devlin is still hanging in there and they didn't sack his ass last year.

beakerjoe

Agent Coulson wrote: »

I must say I'm surprised Devlin is still hanging in there and they didn't sack his ass last year.

Like Dream, the mud has stuck to him and its not coming off. The less I see of him the better.

Loughc

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Tommy End did an hours Q&A on Thea's Twitch stream last night.

He said the last two years were like a slow death, He was told the merch was sell well and his numbers were good however whatever ideas he came up with were just really ignored.

He was very complimentary to WWE and Vince in general throughout the stream and stated he was happy working there. Apparently he was given the budgetary reasons excuse for his firing.

How a company making more money than ever can fire people using a poor excuse like budgetary reasons is beyond me.

J. Marston

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Tommy End did an hours Q&A on Thea's Twitch stream last night.

He said the last two years were like a slow death, He was told the merch was sell well and his numbers were good however whatever ideas he came up with were just really ignored.

As a counterpoint to Coulson's cherry-picked "Fed bad" quotes...

Super thankful for the exposure and the experience. He has a good relationship with Vince. Vince could never nail down exactly what he wanted to say with Black.

Loved how Heyman would go to bat for him.

"Don't get mad at our creative" says they try super hard and are good, creative people. Mentions "Bruce" (Pritchard, I'm assuming) as going to bat for him. The opinion was "no one moves like him, no one is intense like him". "In the last 5 years I have proven myself to be one of the most influential strikers of my generation".

He prefaces saying the last two years were like dying a slow death with...

"It's bittersweet - I owe everything to WWE. My prior work got me to the dance, but the last two years were a slow death".

"Roman Reigns - one of the best ****ing locker room leaders on earth. What a guy". Usos too! Shouts out Apollo for just smashing his character work.

And my favourite...

"Don't listen to journalists, they don't have insiders, they get told warped stories".

"Don't waste your money on it. It's 5% truth, 95% fiction".

Goes off on how paid wrestling journalists suck "I get it, negativity sells".

Says it puts fans in a **** position, because it's your closest source of news, but it's mostly bull****. Says it programs fans to hate WWE. Sometimes it's right "A broken clock is right twice a day" - also shouts out "oh, "plans changed" is the biggest cop out in the world" .

Also seemingly SRS -" "oh, sign up to my patreon for news about Thea" - there is no news." Mentions also "Asuka storms out of WWE Raw" when in fact she just went to the next town.

https://old.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/nqs8k4/aleister_black_tommy_end_on_twitch_notes/

It's weird how people are so desperate to portray how these people are supposed to hate WWE when they may have enjoyed their time and feel no animosity.

Shiminay

You can't forget that it's a business where burning bridges are remembered and you "never say never" in wrestling. It's not going to do anyone looking to sign a new contract somewhere else any favours to be spitting fire about the people that just sacked them when there's the podcast circuit to be milked for the next 2 years talking about what "really" happened

It's show business, not show friends

B.A._Baracus

Yeah I hate that "plans changed" garbage you read on news websites. They never knew anything.

Sure a lot of "news" is plucked out of the air or educated guesses. Like two dudes wrestle on raw and it looks like they're gonna work a program together. Que dirtsheets 'we have been told by various sources wrestler a and wrestle b are about to enter a fued and will wrestle at [insert next ppv name]'

Sure wasn't Keith Lee meant to get fired yesterday? Guess plans changed lol.

beakerjoe

J. Marston wrote: »

It's weird how people are so desperate to portray how these people are supposed to hate WWE when they may have enjoyed their time and feel no animosity.

The slow death comment, coupled with how he was booked post WM 2020 suggests that he wasnt thrilled with how he was used. He certainly appears that he wasnt fully happy, but did have positive experiences too.

Its a fair comment to say he was at the very least frustrated with his creative direction.

And while he may have had positive experiences with the likes of Heyman and Bruce, both men are snakes who will be nice to your face and bad mouth you behind your back.

Blacks just not burning his bridges, and he's right not too.

Agent Coulson

Imagine meeting your wife in a company making good money however being a hugely creative person not being allowed to let your creativeness out and then getting fired from that same company because creative had nothing for you/

You could look back with a lot of fondness of your time at that company for making friends and meeting your wife yet still dislike it for not letting you do the thing they hired you for.

It is easy to both like and dislike your time at any workplace.

montyrebel

Agent Coulson wrote: »

I must say I'm surprised Devlin is still hanging in there and they didn't sack his ass last year.

what was he ever accused off, i never fully heard it, feel free to PM if not comfortable saying on here

Agent Coulson

montyrebel wrote: »

what was he ever accused off, i never fully heard it, feel free to PM if not comfortable saying on here

WWE UK NXT Superstar, and former cruiserweight champion, Jordan Devlin is being accused of abuse as an accuser, named Hannah Francesca, shared graphic photos on Twitter of bruises throughout her lower body. Francesca commented on the abuse, saying:

“This is scary. I'm really scared. Jordan Devlin did this to me. And this is just the physical damage. Not including my arse and back bruises...because I don't fancy posting that online [woman shrugging emoji].”

Additional comments from Francesca, captioning her now-protected tweets, read:

“To the promotions, wrestlers and fans staying silent. I hear you. To the abusers tweeting their support. I see you.”

“I was also told to reach out to my abuser as the whole thing might just be a ‘misunderstanding’ ??????? Promoters.....educate yourself. Don't gaslight your fans or talent.”

WWE NXT Superstar Piper Niven responded in support of Francesca’s allegations, tweeting:

“I feel like we are all just waiting for someone else to go first. I'm scared too, I see you and I love you. [heart emoji].”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfredkonuwa/2020/06/18/wwe-responds-to-abuse-allegations-against-nxt-star-jordan-devlin/?sh=48c732cf3d5b

Itssoeasy

Agent Coulson wrote: »

HHH seems to escape all the criticism he was the one counter programming AEW and destroying what was a fun show that had nothing to do with Vince, It was made pretty clear that NXT was totally HHH baby and Vince had no interest in it or the talent there.

His ego is just as big as Vince's no former WCW talent ever got a fair chance as they all had to lie down for HHH even Sting 15 years later when he joined the company had to lie down for HHH.

He’s not escaping criticism entirely but he did put the nxt that fans loved on the map and while it’s clear it’s gone very stale and bland I think it’s fair to make a distinction between the two periods of very good and what we have now, which is meh at best.

Of course he has an ego. They all do those top wrestlers from as long as wrestles have been competing in this stuff have had an ego and have used their influence to put guys down, and spin a narrative that makes them look good.

ThePott

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Yeah I hate that "plans changed" garbage you read on news websites. They never knew anything.

Sure wasn't Keith Lee meant to get fired yesterday? Guess plans changed lol.

To be fair, yesterday's news should show the whole 'plans changed' thing holds water. Half the people released were active and now literally told, we have nothing for you, you're fired. Black had just started a feud and then... plans changed.

As for Keith Lee, I didn't see anyone reputable suggest Keith Lee was getting the chop.

I agree with the sentiment, grain of salt and all that but the fact news sites knew releases were coming before releases happened should earn some credence to certain sources of news.

briany

The White Wolf wrote: »

If they were to sell while removing the McMahons from creative and television (along with Kevin Dunn), I could possibly see Triple H working as a Feige type individual overseeing the product day to day.

I mean it's that scenario that is the most realistic one we have of things improving.

When I see fans on the Internet talk about wrestling improving, it seems to me they're really talking about wrestling returning to some bygone age whether it be regaining the edge of the attitude era or having the storytelling of the 80s. I'm not saying that this is how you specifically see improvements happening, but just in the general chatter around that idea.

But my fear is that wrestling, at least in the west, is in an irreversible decline and it won't be that long before there won't be a single active talent who has come up in the territory system and every adult attending the shows won't care who wins or loses but rather comment on the form with which 540 splash was done.

And then it's just a silly gymnastics performance staffed by 'artists' who profusely thank fans on Twitter for their ongoing support. This takeover is already well underway. The whole thing gets faker and more formulaic by the week and eventually everyone gives up caring, and that's the end of current wrestling.

PTH2009

Edge been released would not surprise me and as I said yesterday Bray Wyatt could also be on the chopping block

Cotts72

Brock Lesnar has been moved onto the active wrestling profile allegedly on wwe site. The releases are probably to cover his new deal knowing Vince

Necro

Cotts72 wrote:

Brock Lesnar has been moved onto the active wrestling profile allegedly on wwe site. The releases are probably to cover his new deal knowing Vince

Back for the live events. I did expect that to happen tbh, no point paying Brock stupid money to work the Performance Centre :pac:

Loughc

Cotts72 wrote: »

Brock Lesnar has been moved onto the active wrestling profile allegedly on wwe site. The releases are probably to cover his new deal knowing Vince

They’re currently building towards a Lesnar Lashley match at Summerslam. *Plans might change.

CastorTroy

Loughc wrote: »

They’re currently building towards a Lesnar Lashley match at Summerslam. *Plans might change.

You're doing it wrong. You don't say Plans change until it's obvious you're wrong.

J. Marston

Brock and Bobby could be cool.

https://twitter.com/TigerDriver9X/status/1222276615784235009?s=09

Brock gets a lot of shít but no-one in wrestling has his kind of aura and he works well with almost anyone.

Crooked Jack

briany wrote: »

When I see fans on the Internet talk about wrestling improving, it seems to me they're really talking about wrestling returning to some bygone age whether it be regaining the edge of the attitude era or having the storytelling of the 80s. I'm not saying that this is how you specifically see improvements happening, but just in the general chatter around that idea.

But my fear is that wrestling, at least in the west, is in an irreversible decline and it won't be that long before there won't be a single active talent who has come up in the territory system and every adult attending the shows won't care who wins or loses but rather comment on the form with which 540 splash was done.

And then it's just a silly gymnastics performance staffed by 'artists' who profusely thank fans on Twitter for their ongoing support. This takeover is already well underway. The whole thing gets faker and more formulaic by the week and eventually everyone gives up caring, and that's the end of current wrestling.

While I understand your concern I do think this is slightly hyperbolic. Firstly, a lot of the issues you just mention are already being addressed by the existence of AEW. For example there are no territories any more but we have (or at least pre-pandemic had) a thriving indie scene. AEW still lets its guys work indies so they still get that breadth of experience that you cant get from learning a specific style in the performance centre.
Wins and losses matter, it's a buffet style show so youre getting the flippy sh1t but also the mat wrestling, the brawling, the grappling, the strong style etc... and if you want someone who lives the gimmick, on and off Twitter, MJF is yer man.

The business has always gone through periods of peaks and declines, I'm sure those in the depths of the New Era thought they'd never see the likes of Wrestlemania 3 again

Crooked Jack

Loughc wrote: »

While I agree with the Vince issue the problem is whoever they sell to will get an entertainment show runner in.

The big advantage AEW has is Tony Khan is a WRESTLING fan. That’s why AEW is so much better. They pay attention to the small details. Whoever buys WWE will licence it to feck and use it as an entertainment vessel nothing more.

Whoever they do keep on as wrestling advisors will still be in the WWE model that’s gotten so stale.

Apparently, Nick Khan is already filtering out a lot of the more seasoned backroom people and replacing them with the likes of Hollywood execs, so it doesnt bode well for them returning to a wrestling format any time in the near future

Crooked Jack

Deleted User wrote: »

Who is someone you would like to see released so they can go to AEW for example (not including untouchables like Roman, Becky, Rollins, Orton etc.)

I would love to see Asuka go to AEW. I think she's brilliant.

If I could get Walter out of WWE and into AEW I'd happily never see that Then Now Forever logo ever again

Crooked Jack

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Didn't Braun make some smart alecky comments about Independent wrestlers last year?

There's some schadenfreude for you.

He made a couple of questionable comments about how he worked his way to the top and others crying about the pandemic were freeloaders.
It was a real "why dont homeless people just buy houses" moment. Did not endear me to him as a person

Crooked Jack

Agent Coulson wrote: »

War Machine could be on the block as well.

God I hope so. They'd be amazing in AEW's already brilliant tag division. Retcon all the goofy main roster sh1te and get them back to their roots

CastorTroy

For all this talk about people gong to AEW, where would you put them? The roster is already bloated. Who should get less time for the likes of Black or Murphy?

Crooked Jack

CastorTroy wrote: »

For all this talk about people gong to AEW, where would you put them? The roster is already bloated. Who should get less time for the likes of Black or Murphy?

It's a good point. Hopefully the launch of Rampage will open up a wee bit more space. There a still a few people I'd like to see them pick up but not many

Loughc

CastorTroy wrote: »

For all this talk about people gong to AEW, where would you put them? The roster is already bloated. Who should get less time for the likes of Black or Murphy?

AEW do have another show coming soon Rampage so the roster could do with another couple of recognisable names.

CastorTroy

CastorTroy wrote: »

For all this talk about people gong to AEW, where would you put them? The roster is already bloated. Who should get less time for the likes of Black or Murphy?

A load could be cut from AEW but I don't see Khan doing it, he seems to just let people's contracts expire rather than cutting them (unless it's someone like Havoc when stuff came out about him). I'd say a lot of contracts are due to expire next year though if 3 year contracts were signed in 2019 when the company started.