AWESOME AUSTIN CREED!
SWERVE STRICKLAND!
PRINCE NANA!

and Kofi…

Just… just Kofi.

Yep.

A couple hot topics hitting the Interwebs… the Twitter space… the IWC… something about moving chairs to pay dues or something involving what some dude said about NXT and other WWE folks agreeing with him in some vain attempt to get people to care about this pile of shit. And right now, there’s a couple topics on the horizon that might be worth discussing… but I won’t be discussing those things because all of these things are instigated for the expressed purpose of algorithmic engagement and – beyond this one post on the matter – I do not wish to add to that nonsense.

One issue should have been handled behind closed doors and not turned into an online pissing contest to see who can get the most thumbs up. I find it depressing that someone purported to be a twenty-plus year veteran of the business and a promoter is that much of an attention-seeking pussy that they needed to air their dirty laundry online. Save for that kind of talk for behind the scenes or a shoot interview down the road. Meanwhile, the other side of this discussion has yet to say a word… unless you consider Daddy speaking on his behalf.

One promo that tries to imitate another is not a pipebomb. It is a wet fart. Try as he might, the promo everyone was raving about came across completely fake and artificial. I did not believe a single word of this promo and for people to think that this is on the same level as that pipebomb from 2011 is laughably sad. And for the record, I don’t think Punk has done much in terms of pipe bombs, either. And his wanting to do what he did in AEW with choice WWE talent isn’t making me want to watch his matches. I’ve seen this stuff when it was good and raw. I don’t need to see it remade and rehashed like it is here.

Oh wait, we’ve got the Bloodline… again!

I don’t watch this stuff anymore. I mostly read online sources and even when I am somewhat compelled to watch a clip of these shows, I’m hardly enthused. There’s a lot about the current WWE product that I could complain about – too many ads, too few matches, poor pacing, etc. – but the bottom line is that the shows as a whole aren’t all that exciting. And as much as people will want to blame – and have blamed – Triple H for the current product, this has always been a WWE thing where so many little details can turn off a viewer. I go back and watch some of the stuff I skipped from years past and find myself interested, wondering why I skipped this in the first place… only to be reminded of why I turned this shit off.

WWE has had its dire periods and I’ve had moments where I stopped watching for a period, only to come back after a while to see if things have improved. Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I’ve sat down and watched an entire modern WWE show – TV, PPV, PLE, or otherwise – and I’m not exactly itching for a return. Not when Netflix prices are higher than what I expect to get out of the deal.

And it’s not like WWE is the only one with problems. I’ve got issues with AEW, too. TNA… that’s a bit of a drop off as well.

But WWE is supposed to be the best of the best… and they’re not.

That’s why I’m watching old TNA PPVs and whatever pops up on the WCW or WWE Vault channels.

Great… now I’m stirring to make another piece on this matter.

Damn.

Source: https://itrwrestling.com/news/kevin-owens-heel-attacks-cm-punk-friend/

Yesterday, during an untelevised WWE premium live event in Manchester, former Universal Champion and upstanding Quebecois citizen Kevin Owens confront Danhausen and gave him a stunner, making him a Deadhausen. While some would perceive this as a clear heel tactic to build to his eventual match with reigning WWE champion CM Punk, we here at dtm666.com approve the utter Killinghausen of Deadhausen. Anything to curtail the proliferation of this very nice, very easy bane of existence is worth celebrating in our books.

Although his chances at winning the championship are practically slim, we hereby approve of Mr. Owens’ actions in Manchester and wish him all the best in his upcoming championship opportunity.

Still doesn’t mean I’m going to watch Smackdown… since that requires a Netflix subscription on my end and I’ve already dedicated my occasional streaming dollars to another service for the purposes of watching another show… more details coming Sunday, although it’s just more rambling about modern entertainment, so you may as well skip that one.

Source: https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/jacques-rougeau-releases-tribute-video-aew-declined-to-play-at-redemption/

A little late to the game, but I only came across this a short while ago and I figured, why not?

So, I’m providing a link to said video because it’s a Facebook video, as well as a Twitter video and neither plays nice with the embed here. But basically, it’s the video that former Mountie Jacques Rougeau wanted AEW to play at their pre-show and threw a fit when they said no.

And look, it’s a nice tribute video. Well done… but I can also understand AEW’s refusal to air it. Partly because of the AI-generated content (Tony Khan is reportedly against AI in general) and partly because of some footage and audio elements that they simply don’t have the rights to… and yes, one of those clips happens to be that one night in Montreal where ol’ Jacques got to pin Hollywood Hulk Hogan at a WCW house show in 1997.

Last I recall, WCW is the intellectual property of World Wrestling Entertainment. And I don’t think the TKO people would be too thrilled with the closest to a direct competitor airing footage from one of their shows on the pre-show to one of their PPVs.

Again, I thought it was a good little tribute video and it would have been nice to have seen it on a wider platform… but there are so many red flags to be found there that I’m even amazed Rougeau thought there was any chance of this being aired on AEW programming, especially THAT one particular clip.

Still, the fact that we got a Rougeau appreciation night where people loved Raymond and shat on Jacques (who’d go heel on the crowd because… sure, why not?) is something to be cherished by someone out there… somewhere.

Someone had the audacity to forward me Grayson Waller’s so-called “pipebomb” from this past week’s edition of NXT. I watch it, I believe none of what this man is saying, and the whole thing went over like the proverbial fart in church.

Let’s be fair, though; as great as that original “pipebomb” was fifteen years ago, it’s not exactly timeless. Punk eventually got what he wanted and now his so-called “pipebombs” are more like water balloons. They’ll make a bit of a mess, but they’re practically harmless.

Grayson’s wet fart is somewhere beneath that, even. At least Punk sells his bullshit and can convince you it’s real. If Grayson was capable of cutting such promos, he wouldn’t be exiled back to NXT while his former tag partner is filling a spot on RAW.

Anyway, I’m on the road for the next few hours and should be home later tonight. Will throw something together for Saturday night.

Later.

So after what seemed like weeks into the show’s lifespan, I finally managed to come across an airing of the new Mayhem show from Scott D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Pro wrestling promotion… which airs at midnight on TSN. Hell of a time to catch a wrestling show… reminds me of the days when they used to air first-run RAWs at midnights. The good ol’ days…

Oh wait, those weren’t good ol’ days. I still went to bed early those days… AND I slept well (enough).

Anyway, the show itself is a passable hour of wrestling. Opening with a fun six-man tag match between the team Jay Lethal, Blake Christian & Lee Johnson going up against Psycho Mike, BILLY GUNN (yes, he’s still going… when does he main event Wrestlemania? ) & Zach Gowen (yes, that Zach Gowen… the one-legged Zach Gowen… he’s still going, too… when does HE main event Wrestlemania?) that saw Lethal score the win for his team by rolling up Psycho Michael… is Lethal still with AEW? Is it wrong to presume a string or two was pulled to have the AEW guy go over the Psycho Mike fellow?

Next match are mostly fresh faces for me, as the team Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews (a.k.a. SUBCULTURE) defeated Gabriel Fuerza & Vaughn Vertigo (a.k.a. FIGHT OR FLIGHT) in a match that was a bit too short for my liking, especially with two teams I’m largely unfamiliar with. Alas, the drawbacks of running a short runtime is what will hurt some of these shorter matches, including the one women’s match that also went by fairly quickly and featured two women I knew nothing about.

Main event featured Rohan Raja defending what they called a PWA Champion’s Grail against the Dark Order’s Evil Uno, who – despite being an AEW guy – did NOT win the match, but then out comes Stu Grayson, who I’m told is the interim Canadian champion (lots of interim champions these days) and he accepts Raja’s challenge from last week to put his title on the line, but only if Raja puts up his grail for grabs.

And then the show ends with Adam Copeland cutting a promo… I guess he’ll be showing up at a later MLP show. Christian Cage, however, couldn’t be bothered. He’s too busy being father of the year, somewhere.

So what do you want me to tell you? It’s a hour-long show (with commercials) that has a couple matches and a couple squashes to fill time. Just fine if you want to kill an hour watching perfectly acceptable wrestling, but certainly not worth staying up at night on a weekly basis. Even trying to DVR this thing, it’ll probably be something I’ll forget to catch up on with all the other stuff going.

That having been said, I’ve seen a couple (full) MLP shows in the past and there’s been some promise with some of the stuff they pulled out. Wish those guys all the best and hopefully, I’ll be able to watch a couple more of their shows down the road. There’s an interest on my end… but this show needs a better timeslot.