WWE Musings

Happy Lunar New Year, Enthusiasts!   It’s the year of the Ox! It’s supposed to be an industrious year. I can see that, given everything. Gotta work on getting things back up and running. We can certainly see that in the wrestling world as well. There’s a lot of work to do.   But what else is new? So, let’s check in on what’s going on. Well, the first bit of news that caught my eye is that Keith Lee proposed to Mia Yim. It looks like she said yes! I’m happy for them. They look good together. When Lee heel turns we can see if he gets assistance from RETRIBUTION, if that’s still a thing by then. Best of luck to them both!   Something that may prove ominous for WWE fans is that 58-year-old Keiji Mutoh (a.k.a. The Great Muta) won a heavyweight championship over in Japan. His win was impressive. He still has some moves. But that means WWE may still try to find hope in aging superstars. All they got to do is stay in shape. Goldberg may get himself a title next time out. We’ll have

A Merry Monday to You, Enthusiasts!   Did you catch the Super Bowl? Boring as all hell, wasn’t it? The Chiefs just got flat out schooled. We’ll see how that shapes this year’s season. As for the wrestling world, well, there are and aren’t things going on. We are at the beginning of WrestleMania 37 preparations and it’s hard to say what will hold up until show-time. So far, it appears that WWE is attempting to establish a sense of continuity. This is surprising because WWE seemed to pride itself on being completely random. Yet, with ridicule rampant and ratings falling they have to admit their flaws. It could be said that they are attempting to do something about these loose ends. Well, I would say it’s a case of better late than never.   On the other hand, we probably shouldn’t read too much into this. It could all prove to be red herrings. Christian’s return may or may not affect Edge’s title run. I think a primary method of WWE is sticking to whatever is the most popular. The

Happy Friday, Enthusiasts!   I hope you’re having a good one. Before we get into it with what’s going on in the wrestling world, I just wanted to take a moment to comment on Dad's (Kane’s) appearance during the Royal Rumble. It personified what I’ve been saying all along. I haven’t felt more vindicated about anything as long as I can remember. They use him all wrong. Let the man close out as the Director of Operations again and instead of jobbing for the kids, let him just kick their asses, you know for good reason 😉 He could reestablish a sort of Management presence that squashes whatever noise that the kids may work up. Now, we shouldn’t see him weekly. I like how Adam Pearce is handling the unofficial General Manager role but he’s the proverbial Good Cop here. When Dad gets involved, it’s all Bad Cop. It’s why I call him “Dad”.   It’s not to hear any grievance. It’s to stop someone from griping; shut some pissy kid up, you know whatever. You don’t want to see Dad. He stood

A Fine Beginning of the Week to You Enthusiasts!   Who caught the Royal Rumble? How’d you like it? I know, it wasn’t quite the spectacle we’re used to but I think it was fine, given the circumstances. Generally speaking, I think it went to plan. I was kinda wrong about the switch ups on the singles matches but they did try to keep them entertaining, which I do appreciate. They got Goldberg and McIntyre over and done with right off the bat so, no complaints there. I was right about them just using up the appearances, though. WWE has to know they can only do so much with Goldberg so let the man retire with some dignity.   Carmella and Sasha Banks along with Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns were what they were but I saw the extra effort put in to keep it fresh. Carmella sacrificed herself with a determined suicide dive through the ropes to get her some street-cred. And Reigns running Owens down with the golf cart was hilarious. Though, I would have thought it’d be the other way around

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’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Holidays, Enthusiasts!   Behold the final post of 2020! It was a stunning year for all the wrong reasons but some home truths came to light so it’s not all bad. Let’s get to what’s circulating in the wrestling world, shall we?   So, you don’t need me to inform you of Brodie Lee’s/Luke Harper’s passing. This is just too bad. I didn’t know much about him but it’s put a smile on my face that I kinda pegged him right. A few posts back I said something along the lines that I bet both Luke Harper and Erick Rowan probably smelled like baby powder despite their disheveled appearances. I read that he did in fact keep good care of his “gear” and did not offend. The news coming out is that he was sick since October. That’s what floored me. I had no idea anything was wrong. Those are the toughest hits. Note how the concept of Impermanence affects Life. Nothing is forever and we have no idea how much time we’ve got. It’s sad to see good people pass. If it makes you feel better, think

Merry Christmas, Enthusiasts!     Though there may be less people around that doesn’t mean there should be any less festivity. I had my annual feast of Chinese food and now I’m ready for some wrasslin’.     So, in terms of news in the wrestling world, there’s not too much going on. AEW and NXT both took ratings hits due to real sports being on at the same time. I looked in on both this week and it’s very interesting to see the contrast. I respect NXT but a lot of those guys will have a tough time if they try to go to WWE, The Undisputed Era especially. I don’t doubt they’re skilled wrestlers but they’re far from intimidating. I’m pretty sure Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez could take them on in a fight. I kinda think I could take ‘em too. That doesn’t bode well for making it on the big stage. WWE fans are more like the real world. For example, remember when The Shield would walk through the crowd to the ring? As much as Roman Reigns was given shit back then, when they walked th