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Showing posts from January, 2021

Royal Rumble 2021

A Merry Royal Rumble to You, Enthusiasts!   Are you ready for tonight’s action? You better get in the mood ‘cause it’s all about to go down! There’s too much up in the air to focus on all of it but I will get into some of the speculations going around.   So, personally, I get the feeling that a lot of what’s currently in play will not be valid come Sunday. I just think WWE may be trying to get in front of us and is saying one thing but may end up doing something completely else. I see this for Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens and for Goldberg and Drew McIntyre. For Reigns and Owens I feel they may go this route because this is going to be like the 3 rd showdown in like, 6 weeks. And for Goldberg and McIntyre, no one really wants to see it or at least, no one wants to see Goldberg win. WWE may be setting us up for a bait and switch just to nullify fan disapproval. WWE doesn’t like to lose face, no one does and for the most part, they have to demonstrate that they do in fact know wh

SmackDown "Goes Home" for the Royal Rumble...

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A Good Friday to You Enthusiasts!   How is everyone doing? Good? I hope so. The Royal Rumble is soon upon us and is it me or is the buzz just starting? I remember last year’s. It was practically electric come show-time. I don’t expect that for this year, given everything, but the sense of anticipation is still very strong. It’s probably just tempered by curiosity. There are a lot of loose ends dangling and we’ll see if any of them are addressed come Sunday.   As for the Wrestling Grapevine, there are some stirrings but what caught my eye was some news on Aleister Black. There’s talk that he is still very much a part of the WWE roster but has been given plenty of space to account for the dismissal of Zelina Vega, his wife. An interesting show of tact from WWE, if I may say.   I hope they appreciate what they have in Black. I’m not familiar with his previous incarnation of Tommy End but I have found Black compelling from the start. I like his dark yet approachable way. I hope he’

RAW Starts the Final Stretch to the Royal Rumble 2021...

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Monday Blessings to You, Enthusiasts.   I hope everyone is doing well. Well, it is the Go-Home week for the Royal Rumble and WWE drops a bomb with the WWE Network getting licensed to Peacock/NBC Universal. Now, currently, all I want to know is how this effects my WWE Network subscription. My circumstances have me living with internet only so, I already have subscription access to NBC through SlingTV so do I just log-on to Peacock with my WWE Network credentials or what? Or will it simply be easier to cancel the WWE Network and re-subscribe under Peacock? That sounds like that’s the cheaper route. I’ll see what they say. I haven’t received any notices from WWE Network yet about this transition but they have until mid-March to figure it out.   Beyond that, I can’t say much has caught my eye. We’ll see how RAW builds for the Royal Rumble. What's advertised is Drew McIntyre returning from quarantine to confront Goldberg and Asuka will face Alexa Bliss for the Women’s Title. I

SmackDown Asks Us to Forgive RAW. It's Not Good at Watching Its Limit (^_~)...

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A Good Friday to You, Enthusiasts!   I hope it finds you well. So, there’s a few interesting tidbits floating around. Shall we break them down? I don’t see why not.   The first item of interest is Sasha Banks teasing an inter-gender match with Carmella’s “sommelier”, Reginald. I have nothing against inter-gender matches if they are well paired. So, my problem with this is Banks being about a buck 25. Reginald is not a big guy but I’m sure he weighs more than that. So, the point I’m getting to is that it’s hard to buy this match. So, I’m expecting some sort of hijinks to ensue. Now if she was facing someone like Drake Maverick, I could buy it because they’re damn near the same size. But a woman facing off against a guy who weighs more than her given weight-class is hard to believe unless said woman has martial arts in their repertoire. So, if Shayna Baszler came through or Ronda Rousey took this match, I’m more likely to accept it because they could use their skills to offset th

RAW Starts the Slow CountDown to the Royal Rumble...

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A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts!   I would ask if you enjoy the 2 nd day off we get of the year but with so many at home anyway, not sure it really matters currently. Have faith.   2022 is looking good so far.   So, when it comes to wrestling news there’s a bit floating around. I suppose the biggest bit of news is that the WrestleManias have been set for up to 2023. WrestleMania 37 will remain in Florida and have limited fan attendance. It has also been pushed back to April 10 th and will conclude on April 11 th . In 2022, WrestleMania will be held in Dallas at AT&T Stadium on April 3 rd . In 2023, it will come back to the West Coast and be held at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 2 nd . It’s hard to think this far into the future but I’m glad there are plans set. Gives everyone something to work with and look forward to. We’ll see what happens between now and then.   In the meantime, many wrestlers are now claiming their entry into the Royal Rumble. Jeff Hardy

SmackDown Takes a Crack at Keeping It Real...

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Happy Friday, Enthusiasts!   How’s 2021 going for you so far? Personally, I can’t say I’m not enjoying myself but still, there are some things to be desired but, what else is new? Let’s get into what’s going on in the WWE Universe. That’s more interesting.   So, SmackDown has to follow up Randy Orton getting scorched by Alexis Bliss. Orton is cracking me up. He’s a lot more fun than I ever gave him credit for. Somehow, he’s selling this angle and hopefully having a great time with it. Now, I don’t buy this “seared cornea” or whatever they're saying his condition is but I do like how Orton is just leaning into becoming WWE’s public enemy #1. The thing is, if he’s going to continue down this ridiculous path, he has to make sure he knows it’s ridiculous. There should be humor with this angle mainly because it is so unbelievable. A tongue and cheek approach would signal to fans that WWE is playing with the idea of kayfabe. What a lot of fans dislike about the WWE Universe is t

RAW Suddenly Has to Figure It Out...Not Like the Other Times...

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A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts.   I hope it finds you well. So, this Monday has some news for us, doesn’t it? Drew McIntyre has tested positive for the COVID and that throws everything up in the air for whatever was planned for the Royal Rumble. Times like this is indicative of the WWE Universe, ‘tis the caveat of live television. When something comes up, there’s a scramble. Yet, there’s an upside. Someone may get a chance to shine with this sudden opportunity.   Personally, I hope the call comes to Sheamus. He’s been slanging for years but was never really taken seriously. I think it’s time for him. He’s got the chops. He’s got the size. I’m all for it.   There’s a chance that McIntyre will be back for the Rumble, though. He only needs to quarantine for 14 days so technically he could make an appearance but now the question is what to do until then. Well, there’s a whole host of things but will it be any good? At the moment, I wouldn’t count WWE completely out. Both RAW an

SmackDown Sets the Tone for Now. The Royal Rumble Is a Long Ways Away...

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Happy Friday, Enthusiasts!   Keep hanging in there. I know plenty of you are tired of that, but persevere. We’ll get through this. How’s about a taste of the wrestling rumor mill in the meantime? What do you say?   So, a tidbit that caught my attention isn’t verified but it could serve as foreshadowing. There’s a photo circulating on Reddit that has Aleister Black/Tommy End shaking hands with Tony Khan over a contract with AEW. The general sentiment going around is that Black should have done this sooner but if this turns out to be true, then this is gross evidence of WWE’s internal issues. Again, a good wrestler is underutilized merely because the Creative Department doesn’t know what to do with him. Absolutely shameful. As I’ve said before, a creative department shouldn’t be strapped for ideas. They should be brimming over with them. There should be too much to do, not too little. Pieces of information like this don’t bode well for any given entertainment company. Now, given

We Got Some Time Before the Royal Rumble So, RAW Will Host Legends Night!

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A Good Monday to You, Enthusiasts.   I hope it finds you well. So, there are some rumblings in the world of wrestling. Let’s go over them, shall we?   The most interesting bit of news going around is that New Japan is looking to secure a new US and UK television deal. I’m not sure how much traction it will get but it’s interesting. I say this because the Japanese style is a lot different from what we’re used to in the West. Not sure the western palette will warm to it but it’s good to see what’s going on in the world so, hopefully it attracts the worldlier wrestling enthusiast. That’s why I would check in from time to time when it was on AXS TV. Yet, it is a different approach, similar to the difference with Lucha Libre. The backbone is wrestling but it’s just presented another way. They like to keep the action more believable so you won’t see as much flashiness. It’s more textbook wrestling. Check it out and see if you like it if you haven’t already. It’s not my bag but I resp

SmackDown Opens 2021...

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Happy New Year, Enthusiasts!   Here we are to inaugurate this year 2021. Given last year, most would say there’s nowhere else to go but up. Let’s hope this rings true. In meantime, let’s see what’s going on in the world of wrestling.   Well, it was emotional but AEW held a wonderful tribute episode for Brodie Lee/Luke Harper. Word is that WWE was gracious and chose to let AEW have first dibs on honoring him, since that’s the promotion he was with. It was very touching. Moments like this can be very catalytic. In a way, Mr. Lee could become a sort of martyr, though unintentional. How he touched everyone has caused a sort of sea change. That mixed with the impact of the pandemic could prompt people to rethink their lives. Seeing how he affected so many, I wouldn’t be surprised that his passing will change how many handle their careers and hold their professional interactions. No doubt it will all be for the better.   Though it is sad it took his passing to bring home the truth, t