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 A Town Called Malus wrote:
Mmm, came just after she posted something on twitter about unionisation apparently. Though apparently she said to her fans on a twitch stream or something that she asked for her release (allegedly, haven't seen the stream myself and others are saying she didn't say that so who knows?).

Given the time difference between her unionisation tweet and the one from WWE about her being released, I'm fairly confident she'd been told she was being released by the time she made her tweet, and was just a bit quicker off the draw than WWE were.

Zelina was one of the highlights of Covid-era WWE Raw.

I was disappointed when they moved her to singles competition, because as good as she is on the mic and as talented as she is in the ring, I had a hard time finding any of her offense believable because of how small she is. Whenever I saw her throw a punch, it just didn't come off as threatening.

Caught up with Full Gear at the weekend, I think all the main matches were good-great and definitely some surprising results in there!

The Mox - Kingston match... wow that was an absolute war!

@Aleister Black going to NXT:
Oh yes. Pretty much anything but what's happening to him on the main roster right now. I got this weird thing about Mr.Black - I don't really care that much about him or the gimmick (be it Aleister Black Satanist, Aleister Black "working man's hero" [lololololololoololololololololl], Aleister Black sitting in his room, etc.), but once he gets in the ring I always find him to be really good. Yeah, put him on NXT, or even Main Event. Ever since i saw Ricochet over there and the absurdity of this situation somehow I started digging the idea of putting the really good people Vince doesn't care about on Main Event, make it a super workrate-y smarkshow and hope Vince never notices.

@Kroem: Aye, what a show!

Zelina (Aleister's wife) apparently made more on Twitch then she did with WWE...

Aleister's request to move back to NXT (and away from Vince's "Creative" control) has, apparently, been denied...

So, how many weeks in a row will Aleister be put through the announcer's desk?

 bbb wrote:
So, how many weeks in a row will Aleister be put through the announcer's desk?

Saving on 'independent contractor' salaties to afford more tables to put their spouses through each week.....

I've been catching up on some NXT UK stuff, which is probably actually the WWE product that I enjoy the most.

Just watched WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov on the 29th October episode for the NXT UK Champonship. Holy hell it was a great match. Just pure, no frills, old-school style hard hitting wrestling with two people beating the absolute tar out of each other, which their chests and backs testify to by the end. If you have the Network then definitely check it out, it earned its 5-star rating from Meltzer. If you don't then you can watch it on the WWE youtube channel with some commentary from HBK, Drew, Sheamus, Cesaro, Regal and some others.

On that note, I think WALTER has solidly secured his position again as my favourite wrestler currently working (first taking that spot with his match against Tyler Bate at Takeover Cardiff last year). He isn't flashy, his work doesn't flow seamlessly from one move to another in fluid chains or anything like that. He is slow, methodical and brutal. He just hits you, and slams you, and then keeps on hitting you until you cannot stand up and then he does it some more. He is a heel that would work in literally any era of wrestling.

Delving into AEW for the first time. Mostly because I always forget I can watch it on ITV Hub (can’t get live TV through the aerial where I live)

Thanks for the hint; I still have to watch that match.

Yeah, there aren't many wrestlers from Austria who 'make it big', but if they do it's good'uns. I also find Walter's approach (not wanting to go to the US despite the offer) really nice. Last fall I attended a WWE house show here in Vienna. Overall it was a very 'meh' experience (and expensive). I was with friends who in part don't care much for 'rasslin' at all or at least are completely unfamiliar with the 'current product'. So that didn't help either. On a Monday, so barely any drinking, I feel rather silly for liking wrestling anyway, even more so when watching a WWE live show. Tons of people and all of that, so-so audience (lots of awkward silence), BUT they brought out Walter, who got a pretty big pop. So that was cool. Heel-Bayley ragged a bit on him too later that night, because she's good at being a baddie. Caesaro also got a lot of applause, because a.) peeps in Vienna probably are in large parts aware that he's a really good talker in German [and in English, if they gave him any lines!] and b.) he's a good'un in general, isn't he. The funny thing was that this was during the time Shorty G just had become a thing, and the story of the whole evening was getting him over.

It was a weird experience. First time watching WWE live, third time watching live wrestling. To be honest I'll take any indies show (even the ones who don't have a ring) over a thing that big and on a bloody MONDAY. The Revival did the Young Bucks pose, which was nice, but the audience didn't pick up on it. There was a tiny little cluster of people who boo'd Roman Reigns and shouted S-C-UUUUU at some points, but it really was minor incidents and kinda half-arsed too.

Oh well. I miss live wrestling. Anyway, time to watch Talk'n'Shop-a-Mania and then Walter-Dragunov.



@Mad Doc Grotsnik: Enjoy.

I only started watching wrestling again after a 15ish year break when Smackdown came to Fox. Cesaro was unknown to me, but, man, do I now love me some Cesaro.

 bbb wrote:
I only started watching wrestling again after a 15ish year break when Smackdown came to Fox. Cesaro was unknown to me, but, man, do I now love me some Cesaro.

Absolutely. When I started watching wrestling in 2015 he used to record a segment especially for German TV in which he told a bad joke or held a little promo in German each week on RAW.

 bbb wrote:
So, how many weeks in a row will Aleister be put through the announcer's desk?

Ha!

...and probably quite true...

Also, Zelina was, apparently, fired for opening up an...OnlyFans account!

FINALLY got in the Thunderdome last night. Kids were thrilled. We're going to watch it again tonight to see if we can find ourselves.

@Alpharius: Aye, I heard. So I assume she either knew she'd get fired or she was really pushing for that. Maybe for laudable reasons (shedding light on unionizing).

 bbb wrote:
FINALLY got in the Thunderdome last night. Kids were thrilled. We're going to watch it again tonight to see if we can find ourselves.

wahey! Cool. How was the whole thing? do you get a confirmation e-mail and then there's a little warm-up/briefing session?

When you sign up you get an email with a call-in time. Then they send you an email with recommendations for getting having the best experience (connect from a computer that is connected to web from ethernet, good lighting, dress appropriately, etc.). Then the day of the show you get an email reminder with your call-in time.

For weeks I've been signing up, but everytime I've clicked the link to connect at the call-in time I get a message saying the Thunderdome is full. This time I clicked on 1 minute before my time and got the full message. I tried it again 1 minute later and got in.

They give you WWE promos and ads during commercials and have a host who is promoting you to be energetic and cheer for the faces and boo the heels. Occasionally they'll say specific things like, "you need to wear a shirt, and another time they were telling a guy to set his phone on a surface so it was steady.

I assume signs are a no-no? I also heard they had to remind people not to eat on camera while the show is on too.

 Sigur wrote:
Thanks for the hint; I still have to watch that match.

I'd love to hear your thoughts as there was quite a bit of talking between the two throughout the match in German which I've heard was some great smack talk, including one particular exchange which was apparently (translation from a youtube comment) something like:

WALTER: "Do I have to kill you?"
Dragunov: "You will not manage to"

WWE needs to get subs on the match or get someone on commentary who speaks german to relay that kind of thing to non-german speaking viewers in any future match between these two because that kind of exchange is incredible storytelling and is wonderful character building for Dragunov.

Wait Cesaro is German?! I just assumed he was Portuguese or something from his name XD

Walter vs Duganov was great, it just goes to show the death of kayfabe doesn't mean that a seriously presented match can't get over with the fans

@MDG I think now is a bad to start watching AEW, it's hard to get into things without crowds if you're not already invested in the storylines.
However it being free on ITV is great and I hope you enjoy it.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Sigur wrote:
Thanks for the hint; I still have to watch that match.

I'd love to hear your thoughts as there was quite a bit of talking between the two throughout the match in German which I've heard was some great smack talk, including one particular exchange which was apparently (translation from a youtube comment) something like:

WALTER: "Do I have to kill you?"
Dragunov: "You will not manage to"

WWE needs to get subs on the match or get someone on commentary who speaks german to relay that kind of thing to non-german speaking viewers in any future match between these two because that kind of exchange is incredible storytelling and is wonderful character building for Dragunov.

Watched the match now. Ho-lee cow. The recommendations did not come unwarranted. That was something else.

As for the talking during the match - maybe I missed something, but it wasn't that much and pretty much standard non-comedic wrestlers-talking-during-matches stuff. As far as I understood especially during the first half of the match Dragunov mostly used some Russian phrases, lateron mostly saying "du schaffst mich nicht" or "du schlägst mich nicht" (you won't beat me). Which in the end was a bit comical when he was lying on the ground after the splash from the top rope, saying "du schlägst mich nicht" ("you won't beat me", but also "you won't hit/punch me"), followed by Walter just raning down slaps and elbows on him.

Either way - thanks for the suggestion. I think I only watched the first episode of NXT UK before, but this might be a good option for a go-to tv show when it comes to WWE. Somehow I stopped following even NXT completely.

 Kroem wrote:
Wait Cesaro is German?! I just assumed he was Portuguese or something from his name XD

Walter vs Duganov was great, it just goes to show the death of kayfabe doesn't mean that a seriously presented match can't get over with the fans

@MDG I think now is a bad to start watching AEW, it's hard to get into things without crowds if you're not already invested in the storylines.
However it being free on ITV is great and I hope you enjoy it.

He's Swiss, but he speaks several languages.

 Kroem wrote:
Wait Cesaro is German?! I just assumed he was Portuguese or something from his name XD

Cesaro is Swiss


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Sigur wrote:


As for the talking during the match - maybe I missed something, but it wasn't that much and pretty much standard non-comedic wrestlers-talking-during-matches stuff. As far as I understood especially during the first half of the match Dragunov mostly used some Russian phrases, lateron mostly saying "du schaffst mich nicht" or "du schlägst mich nicht" (you won't beat me). Which in the end was a bit comical when he was lying on the ground after the splash from the top rope, saying "du schlägst mich nicht" ("you won't beat me", but also "you won't hit/punch me"), followed by Walter just raning down slaps and elbows on him.

Ah, fair enough.

Either way - thanks for the suggestion. I think I only watched the first episode of NXT UK before, but this might be a good option for a go-to tv show when it comes to WWE. Somehow I stopped following even NXT completely.

Definitely check out Takeover Cardiff from 2019 as well. You have Cesaro vs Dragunov which was pretty good, the Tag Team triple threat was really good, the women's title match was okay, Mastiff vs Coffey was okay, and then you get to WALTER vs Tyler Bate and realise there is still around an hour left of the show. That match was absolutely fantastic. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands the whole way through, even managing to make a live audience mark out to a vertical suplex in 2019

 bbb wrote:

 Kroem wrote:
Wait Cesaro is German?! I just assumed he was Portuguese or something from his name XD

Walter vs Duganov was great, it just goes to show the death of kayfabe doesn't mean that a seriously presented match can't get over with the fans

@MDG I think now is a bad to start watching AEW, it's hard to get into things without crowds if you're not already invested in the storylines.
However it being free on ITV is great and I hope you enjoy it.

He's Swiss, but he speaks several languages.

A good thing, given he's the Swiss Superman...

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

Definitely check out Takeover Cardiff from 2019 as well. You have Cesaro vs Dragunov which was pretty good, the Tag Team triple threat was really good, the women's title match was okay, Mastiff vs Coffey was okay, and then you get to WALTER vs Tyler Bate and realise there is still around an hour left of the show. That match was absolutely fantastic. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands the whole way through, even managing to make a live audience mark out to a vertical suplex in 2019

Cesaro vs. Dragunov? I'm in. I think I saw Walter vs. Pete Dunne on Takeover:New York. That was good already.

@Dysartes: Nono, he's a baddie right now, so he's the Swiss Cyborg!

Yeah, Cesaro is said to be one of those people who's just good at everything. AND he suffered the nastiest injury I ever saw on TV. AND he tore the beach ball apart. You gotta love him.

Got in the Thunderdome again tonight! AND got on screen multiple times. Kids were thrilled.

 Sigur wrote:

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

Definitely check out Takeover Cardiff from 2019 as well. You have Cesaro vs Dragunov which was pretty good, the Tag Team triple threat was really good, the women's title match was okay, Mastiff vs Coffey was okay, and then you get to WALTER vs Tyler Bate and realise there is still around an hour left of the show. That match was absolutely fantastic. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands the whole way through, even managing to make a live audience mark out to a vertical suplex in 2019

Cesaro vs. Dragunov? I'm in. I think I saw Walter vs. Pete Dunne on Takeover:New York. That was good already.

@Dysartes: Nono, he's a baddie right now, so he's the Swiss Cyborg!

Yeah, Cesaro is said to be one of those people who's just good at everything. AND he suffered the nastiest injury I ever saw on TV. AND he tore the beach ball apart. You gotta love him.

Just a shame they partnered him with Sheamus, really.

Not a fan of Da Bar, Mad Doc?

I like Shaemus. As a babyface a few years ago he was bland, but as a baddie he's a good'un. Right now I find his attire to be odd to say the least, but I think overall he's a good addition to the roster.

I've come to the conclusion that it is harder to get yourself over as a babyface than it is as a heel, especially in this cynical age!

 Kroem wrote:
I've come to the conclusion that it is harder to get yourself over as a babyface than it is as a heel, especially in this cynical age!

It's often more obvious to be a prick than not be a prick - but in the case of WWE, I think their writing/presentation of babyfaces really doesn't help matters.

NXT is better than the main brands for this, but I'm not sure how much.

I mean, look at RAW & SD at the moment - aside from Drew, The New Day and possibly Daniel Bryan, who would you say are well-presented babyfaces? Then look at the heel side of the equation...

Heck, reports indicate they think what they've been doing with Lana the last couple of months is a way to turn her into a sympathetic babyface... by putting her through the announce table repeatedly. On the upside, that's a streak that may now have been broken.

Compare and contrast to AEW, which definitely seems to be a bit more organic in terms of face/heel dynamics. While it is hard to say who is truly over without fans being properly present, you've got the likes of Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes, Best Friends, Darby Allen, Orange Cassidy and Jurassic Express - just off the top of my head - as babyfaces who've gotten themselves over. Some of them are still developing, sure, but it is an area I'd say AEW do better than WWE.