Poll of the Day > PotdMon: Nerd/Geek

(+) Yeah! (+)

The current state of the WWE almost makes me nostalgic for the WCW. ... Almost.

*cue Shockmaster footage*

Broken_Zeus posted...

Kind of a neat concept and I imagine it has certain conveniences.... well, other than scheduling issues since I'd guess you can't all get the same time off to play.

One of my players is the store manager, so scheduling is a non-issue.
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WhiskeyDisk posted...

I'm talking about the three lane street itself.

Oh, so not Central Park itself, you meant 8th Avenue.

Yeah, you can cross that in about 20 seconds. I think a blind tortoise that's missing a leg could cross that in less than 20 minutes.



I_Abibde posted...

The current state of the WWE almost makes me nostalgic for the WCW. ... Almost.

AEW should be a breath of fresh air when it comes. Even if it's absolutely terrible it'll still wind up being better than the WWE has managed to be over the last few years.

NXT is a different story, but NXT is barely connected to WWE at all at this point, at least creatively speaking. It's a sad state of affairs when most people are basically hoping and praying their NXT favorites never get called up to the main roster, because it's effectively a 100% kiss of death that ruins them forever.



Broken_Zeus posted...

Given his in-ring work, that might be for the best >_> I always preferred him as a personality.

They barely allow him to have one. He's better than some, but not enough to really care about.

Basically, if you're a brilliant technical wrestler or incredibly athletic gymnast who can flip across the ring (and get hugely over because of it), the WWE shuts you down, forces you to wrestle their "safe" house style, and more or less erase everything unique about you. If you have a brilliant personality and get over by sheer force of charisma, the WWE brings you in and doesn't let you show that in any way, turning you into a cardboard persona with wooden line delivery until no one cares about you and you inspire nothing but apathy.

SPEAKING of which...



Broken_Zeus posted...

O snap, was that EC3 next to him? Is EC3 back in the WWE? Are they actually going to do something with EC3 this time?

It was - EC3 was Drake/Spud's Best Man at his wedding (and it was his real, actual wedding, not a kayfabe one).

But EC3's another example of how WWE works - they basically brought EC3 in, who got over in TNA/Impact through sheer force of personality and being gold on the mic, and the first thing they did was give him a gimmick where he didn't talk for about a month. He's been there for four months now, and he's probably said fewer words all told than I've written in this paragraph. And Vince has decided to arbitrarily hate him for no good reason, so this will never change and he'll be treated like shit forever unless he leaves.

It's gotten so bad that people have basically been posting memes about him being borderline suicidal, or just having had his love for wrestling crushed out of him entirely. And he's pretty much started Tweeting stuff on Twitter now like "Every time I make you laugh, I suffer more inside", or replying to one of Cena's boilerplate "Follow your dreams, kids!" tweets with "Dreams can become nightmares".


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

But EC3's another example of how WWE works - they basically brought EC3 in, who got over in TNA/Impact through sheer force of personality and being gold on the mic, and the first thing they did was give him a gimmick where he didn't talk for about a month. He's been there for four months now, and he's probably said fewer words all told than I've written in this paragraph. And Vince has decided to arbitrarily hate him for no good reason, so this will never change and he'll be treated like shit forever unless he leaves.

Did he leave the WWE voluntarily the first time or was he fired? If he quit, that might explain Vince holding a grudge.
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Donald_J_Zeus posted...

Did he leave the WWE voluntarily the first time or was he fired? If he quit, that might explain Vince holding a grudge.

Apparently part of the problem is that Vince just hates anyone who gets famous outside of the WWE in general, as he's got the general mentality of "If you didn't get over here you didn't get over" for most wrestlers (with a few rare exceptions these days). But the other part of the problem is that Vince apparently got pissed that fans at a house show were booing EC3 (who was supposed to be a face) and cheering Dean Ambrose (who was supposed to be a heel), in spite of the fact that the fans all knew Dean was leaving the company soon (so they were going to cheer him no matter what), and the fact that the WWE had done a phenomenally piss-poor job of pushing EC3 in any way (meaning no one in that audience was going to care what he was supposed to be, because almost no effort had been put into making those fans care in any way). So he arbitrary decided to hate EC3 from now until doomsday, because that is what Vince does.

The fact that the situation was entirely out of EC3's hands is immaterial - Vince basically formed a knee-jerk irrational visceral opinion of him and will never change it no matter what. EC3 is hardly the only person who's been fucked over that way recently - Luke Harper has apparently been depushed for years and is being contract-fucked right now solely because Vince was pissed he couldn't do a believable Southern accent, in spite of it being entirely superfluous to his character... and supposedly Andrade complained about not getting a push and Vince's answer was basically "Learn English" - in spite of the fact that Andrade actually speaks English, AND his whole character involved having a valet who does 98% of his talking for him anyway.

Keep in mind, this IS the same man who hates sneezes and who didn't know what a burrito was in spite of eating them for about a year. And who - as Chris Jericho has pointed out - will torpedo entire creative ideas or storyline builds if he didn't enjoy lunch that day (look up Jericho's "Bad Cow" anecdote). He's a man who won't bother to show up to shows until a couple hours before they go live, but who also won't allow anyone in his organization to make a long-term creative decision unless he micromanages it first (and he's more than willing to undo months worth of storyline builds and radically rewrite character motivation or alignment on a whim). He's pretty much an insane old man who no one has the courage to tell he's wrong, and his ego has expanded to astronomical levels.

The modern product is likely to continue to suck until he dies (because he's never, ever giving up power voluntarily), and as some people have pointed out, his mother is actually still alive, so he may have the genes to live more or less forever. When we're all dead, Vince may still be running the WWE (and running it into the ground).


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

But the other part of the problem is that Vince apparently got pissed that fans at a house show were booing EC3 (who was supposed to be a face) and cheering Dean Ambrose (who was supposed to be a heel), in spite of the fact that the fans all knew Dean was leaving the company soon (so they were going to cheer him no matter what), and the fact that the WWE had done a phenomenally piss-poor job of pushing EC3 in any way (meaning no one in that audience was going to care what he was supposed to be, because almost no effort had been put into making those fans care in any way). So he arbitrary decided to hate EC3 from now until doomsday, because that is what Vince does.

If only Vince could take that hint with Reigns >_>

ParanoidObsessive posted...

The modern product is likely to continue to suck until he dies (because he's never, ever giving up power voluntarily), and as some people have pointed out, his mother is actually still alive, so he may have the genes to live more or less forever. When we're all dead, Vince may still be running the WWE (and running it into the ground).

idk, once he's out of the picture, are we all that sure that his idiotic daughter and doofus son-in-law will really do better?
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Donald_J_Zeus posted...

idk, once he's out of the picture, are we all that sure that his idiotic daughter and doofus son-in-law will really do better?

Hunter actually runs NXT fairly well, at least creatively. Whether he can springboard that into financial success is still in question, but NXT is pretty much his baby and most wrestling fans have nothing but praise for it.


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WhiskeyDisk posted...

I'm talking about the three lane street itself. The X-Men have difficulty crossing a three lane street at night and that sequence amounts to 1/6 of the film's runtime, and about half of the third act. And Nightcrawler is in fact present. Pretty sure Quicksilver is too, though the film is so forgettable that I'm not entirely sure...

I highly doubt that literally all they're doing for that time is simply crossing the street.

I have zero faith in the movie as far as quality, but no movie would focus 20 minutes on that with nothing else going on.
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Metalsonic66 posted...

I have zero faith in the movie as far as quality, but no movie would focus 20 minutes on that with nothing else going on.

Some movies might.

I've seen Rubber - I am no longer capable of assuming any given movie isn't going to make horrifically boring and pointless creative decisions, whether out of ineptitude, apathy, or insane artistic vision.


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Hey now, Rubber was a masterpiece!
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A masterpiece of psychological torture, perhaps.

And I say that as someone who appreciates Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.


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I had to look up TNA to see if it still exists, and it looks like it is carried on a channel that almost nobody can watch (Pursuit), but it is not dead. ... Might have to look into AEW and NXT instead.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Metalsonic66 posted...

I have zero faith in the movie as far as quality, but no movie would focus 20 minutes on that with nothing else going on.

Some movies might.

I've seen Rubber - I am no longer capable of assuming any given movie isn't going to make horrifically boring and pointless creative decisions, whether out of ineptitude, apathy, or insane artistic vision.

But was it worse than Deathbed: The Bed that Eats People?

I_Abibde posted...

I had to look up TNA to see if it still exists, and it looks like it is carried on a channel that almost nobody can watch (Pursuit), but it is not dead. ... Might have to look into AEW and NXT instead.

TNA is the proverbial traveling huckster, it has to keep changing channels as soon as carriers wise up to the scam. The fact that these places pay less and less doesn't seem to matter since TNA is infamous for not paying employees.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

A masterpiece of psychological torture, perhaps.

And I say that as someone who appreciates Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

*shrugs*

Rubber was ridiculous and nonsensical, but it was also hilarious. I loved just about every second of it.
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"I know ... that I will miss her. A tomaaato ate my sister."

Still have that on VHS. The wrong-sized meeting room remains one of my favorite sight gags.
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I_Abibde posted...

I had to look up TNA to see if it still exists, and it looks like it is carried on a channel that almost nobody can watch (Pursuit), but it is not dead. ... Might have to look into AEW and NXT instead.

It's actually gotten better creatively - almost no one watches it because of its past reputation and because their TV deal is absolute dog shit, but the few people who do watch tend to argue that it's actually better than WWE at this point. Not that it would be hard to reach that level.



Donald_J_Zeus posted...

But was it worse than Deathbed: The Bed that Eats People?

If memory serves, that movie actually has a plot, which automatically makes it better than Rubber.



Donald_J_Zeus posted...

The fact that these places pay less and less doesn't seem to matter since TNA is infamous for not paying employees.

That was more a problem when it was owned by Dixie Carter, because she had no clue what the fuck she was doing (and mostly started out just spending her parents' money before they cut her off, which is when things started spiraling out of control), but supposedly a lot of the administrative issues of the past have been addressed and fixed since Anthem bought the company. Just like a lot of the creative issues have been fixed since Dixie was forced out and her cronies were dropped from positions of power (and there's been a major improvement ever since Don Callis was brought in to try and fix things).

The problem is that the reputation that comes from 15 straight years of being a clusterfuck tends to poison the well (part of why Anthem officially dropped the TNA name entirely and just renamed the entire company Impact, though it didn't really help because everyone still thinks of it as TNA anyway), so while they've improved, they still have a hard time getting TV deals or winning back lapsed fans.

Considering how WWE has been treating a lot of employees lately, and how much Impact has improved over the last couple years, there's a lot of people now who might be more inclined to sign there instead of with the WWE (especially if they can get a better TV deal, which they've been trying to do - and which may actually become easier for them if AEW succeeds and convinces networks that there's definitely more money to be tapped from wrestling that's being left on the table). For some wrestlers (like EC3) who might not be able to find their way into AEW once that starts going, Impact might effectively become the third-party alternative for North America (if nothing else, it's still seen as being a bit better than RoH these days).



Metalsonic66 posted...

Rubber was ridiculous and nonsensical, but it was also hilarious.

I would agree with two of those statements.

My friends - who used to make a hobby out of watching terrible bad movies for humor value - unanimously voted that movie the worst film ever created by human beings. I don't think any of us laughed even once, and we couldn't even really joke about it because it was so bad.


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I_Abibde posted...

"I know ... that I will miss her. A tomaaato ate my sister."

Still have that on VHS. The wrong-sized meeting room remains one of my favorite sight gags.

I think my favorite joke in the movie was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou917Cwf2-0" data-time="&start=3434

Though to this day, I will occasionally say the word tomato like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQuieWA3SWY" data-time="&start=38

Though now that we've begun the topic of older bad horror movies that wind up being kind of entertaining, I'm also posting this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM-gFnlnO-o" data-time="

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNjYJV4PO1E" data-time="


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

My friends - who used to make a hobby out of watching terrible bad movies for humor value - unanimously voted that movie the worst film ever created by human beings. I don't think any of us laughed even once, and we couldn't even really joke about it because it was so bad.

"Why do some people love sausages and other people hate sausages? No reason."
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Metalsonic66 posted...

ParanoidObsessive posted...

My friends - who used to make a hobby out of watching terrible bad movies for humor value - unanimously voted that movie the worst film ever created by human beings. I don't think any of us laughed even once, and we couldn't even really joke about it because it was so bad.

"Why do some people love sausages and other people hate sausages? No reason."

There's a lot of potential reasons, actually. And most of the things from that full quote are just plain wrong regardless. Either way, it's a terrible ethos for making a movie.

Sure, it works for Salvador Dali and other Surrealist/Dadaist types, but Rubber is no Un Chien Andalou, even if that was the intention.


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It seems that Hulu streams NXT wrestling. Might have to have a glance.

Macchiato Monsters arrived in the mail today. Had a quick read, and I'm believing the hype about this one. Class-free, race-free, level-free, alignment-free; it's a much more free-form style of play that still keeps a number of the D&D fundamentals. I'll learn more of it and see what I can make it do.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Though now that we've begun the topic of older bad horror movies that wind up being kind of entertaining, I'm also posting this:

*cackles*

Good choice, though I'm more partial to Return of the Living Dead, myself.
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Clickbait reads, "How the WWE Star died," and showed a photo I didn't really recognize. The story?

https://www.tmz.com/2019/05/21/ashley-massaro-hanging-suicide-wwe/

Once again the media is getting veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery liberal with its use of the term, "star." Ashley Massaro was a short-lived diva who was with the company for maybe 2-3 years and never held the women's title despite working at a time when the title didn't mean much.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

My friends - who used to make a hobby out of watching terrible bad movies for humor value - unanimously voted that movie the worst film ever created by human beings. I don't think any of us laughed even once, and we couldn't even really joke about it because it was so bad.

Clearly you haven't seen Last House on Hell St with its technicolor trees.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Though now that we've begun the topic of older bad horror movies that wind up being kind of entertaining, I'm also posting this:

Been so long since I've seen it that the trailer didn't look familiar, although there are a lot of really bad films with similar titles and similar settings.

For my contribution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UViwQgem5Sg" data-time="

Can't post the trailer because it features a lot of nudity >_>

Class of Nuke 'em High Part 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown was a lot funnier than the original, in addition to having a better theme song. Part 3 was absolutely hilarious just for taking things in an even more bizarre direction and having terrible editing. It's particularly notable for casting the star of the previous film, Brick Bronsky, in 3 roles.
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Taily_Po posted...

Clickbait reads, "How the WWE Star died," and showed a photo I didn't really recognize. The story?

https://www.tmz.com/2019/05/21/ashley-massaro-hanging-suicide-wwe/

Once again the media is getting veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery liberal with its use of the term, "star." Ashley Massaro was a short-lived diva who was with the company for maybe 2-3 years and never held the women's title despite working at a time when the title didn't mean much.

Ehh, she was actually relatively significant in the division at the time. It just doesn't seem like it because it was at a time when the company as a whole was in a downturn, and the women's division was still mostly just a joke.

Actual reputable wrestling news sources addressed it after it happened because it's not like she was a fly-by-night member of the roster who dropped in for a cup of coffee and not much else. And she really only retired because her daughter had medical issues and she needed to stay home to care for her, so it's not like they dropped her or she faded into obscurity by virtue of a lack of talent.

I don't know if that article mentions it because I respect myself as a person too much to ever click on any link with "TMZ" in it, but one of the major reasons her death became more of a story is because it helped throw more light on the fact that she'd previously sued the WWE over allegations that she'd been raped during one of the company's tours to support the troops in Kuwait, but company officials just brushed it off and pressured her into not saying anything about it publically (which is 110% believable based on literally everything we know about how upper management works in the WWE). There were implications that her suicide might have been related to it (ie, she never really got over the trauma and only really held off on killing herself as long as she did because she had to take care of her daughter until she was an adult).

Ultimately, we're never likely to know the real truth of the situation, seeing as the only people left who know what really happened all have reasons for lying and reputations for being deceitful.


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So the missus and I had a sit and watched several episodes of NXT back to back. Excellent wrestling, and no Vince mugging for memes. Looks like this is going to become a weekly staple. *shakes head* So that's yet another thing I can blame on you lot. We'll see where we can watch AEW after that starts being a thing in October.
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Yeah, NXT is pretty much the most worthwhile thing the WWE is doing these days.


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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Ehh, she was actually relatively significant in the division at the time. It just doesn't seem like it because it was at a time when the company as a whole was in a downturn, and the women's division was still mostly just a joke.

...because the division was tiny at the time, so even the jobbers were relatively significant at the time. (Not that I'm saying she was a jobber and I'll also admit that I liked her towards the beginning of her run.)

ParanoidObsessive posted...

And she really only retired because her daughter had medical issues and she needed to stay home to care for her, so it's not like they dropped her or she faded into obscurity by virtue of a lack of talent.

I don't remember her having much in the way of talent.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

but one of the major reasons her death became more of a story is because it helped throw more light on the fact that she'd previously sued the WWE over allegations that she'd been raped during one of the company's tours to support the troops in Kuwait, but company officials just brushed it off and pressured her into not saying anything about it publically (which is 110% believable based on literally everything we know about how upper management works in the WWE). There were implications that her suicide might have been related to it (ie, she never really got over the trauma and only really held off on killing herself as long as she did because she had to take care of her daughter until she was an adult).

Something I'll have to look into, but the supposition surrounding her death is in somewhat poor taste, considering that she had a whole life outside the WWE and she hadn't worked for the WWE in like a decade.
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Broken_Zeus posted...

...because the division was tiny at the time, so even the jobbers were relatively significant at the time. (Not that I'm saying she was a jobber and I'll also admit that I liked her towards the beginning of her run.)

Yeah, but it's sort of a truism that a smaller fish is always going to look bigger in a small pond versus a large one, and you sort of have to compare her to her contemporaries more than you do the modern product, because it's been radically different for years now. She may not be the female equivalent of Hulk Hogan or Randy Savage, but it's not like we're talking about the female equivalent of Mantaur or Duke the Dumpster, either. People who were watching the product at the time would remember her well enough.

She was with the company for a few years, feuded with some of the most major female names available at the time, and even had a match at Wrestlemania. For her time period, she was definitely upper mid-card, and she had at least some presence outside the company as well (a couple TV guest shots and a run on Survivor).

Granted, someone who wasn't watching the product at the time (and I can't blame them, on the whole it was kind of meh then), or who never really paid attention to women's storylines at all (and I can't blame them, as they were kind of stupid) might not remember her all that much, but that's a problem for every woman of the period (except maybe Trish and Mickie James, but they both got over prior to that era so are kind of exceptions anyway).



Broken_Zeus posted...

I don't remember her having much in the way of talent.

You could pretty much say that about every woman in the WWE at the time.

Along with the big pond aphorism above, it's kind of a truism that the level of talent tends to rise based on competition. If you're in a locker room full of incredible athletic workrate machines, you're likely going to try and up your game to stand out against them, and will potentially learn from them during matches to improve your own skills. But if you're in a division when literally all Vince wants you to do is bra-and-panty matches, there really isn't all that much motivation or opportunity to improve.

Trish might be the only female wrestler of the last 30 years or so who seems to have improved IN the WWE in spite of that environment as opposed to coming from outside that environment (ie, the NXT and indie-trained girls they brought in prior to their own "women's revolution"). Part of why women like Gail Kim and Victoria left for TNA, where it at least seemed they could sort of be wrestlers and not models.



Broken_Zeus posted...

Something I'll have to look into, but the supposition surrounding her death is in somewhat poor taste, considering that she had a whole life outside the WWE and she hadn't worked for the WWE in like a decade.

I think it mostly started because her lawyer brought it up. But I'm not sure the gap in time matters, if you take into account she supposedly left the WWE to take care of her daughter, and then committed suicide about a year after her daughter was legally an adult. It legitimizes a scenario where you can assume the only reason she didn't do it sooner is because she was waiting for her daughter to be able to take care of herself.

Granted, that may not actually be the case, and we really don't know all of the facts or what's true and what isn't, but it's worth keeping in mind. Because if any of the story IS true, it does kind of reinforce the idea that the WWE can be a horrific place to work for a lot of wrestlers (and even currently, there's some major employment problems there that really need addressing - part of what's making AEW look so good to some).


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Just checking in to say that WWE has been really bad in and out of the ring since Mania. WWE is in that horroble hovering period until Summerslam where nothing happens, and they just have to fill 5 hours of television content a week, nor to mention that those terrible WWE Netwoek shows that P.O. is right, nobody watches.

In good wrestling I have been watch new Japan, and I watched Wrestle Kingdom and Dominion, and that was some great stuff. I wish I wasn't horsing money because the G1 is in Dallas this coming weekend, not sa ing for a house is more important. No extra trips or video games for a while.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Trish might be the only female wrestler of the last 30 years or so who seems to have improved IN the WWE in spite of that environment as opposed to coming from outside that environment (ie, the NXT and indie-trained girls they brought in prior to their own "women's revolution"). Part of why women like Gail Kim and Victoria left for TNA, where it at least seemed they could sort of be wrestlers and not models.

On that note, I figure I'll just list all the Divas/women's wrestlers I *can* remember from the WWE over the years (well, without seeing their name or image first):

Trish Stratus
Lita
AJ Lee
Alicia Foxx
Chrissy Hemme
Mickie James
Karma? Or whatever Awesome Kong was being called
Chyna
Tori
Michelle McCool
Candice Michelle
Jillian
Summer Rae
Kaitlyn?
Sable, although calling her a wrestler would be generous
Melina
Joy Giovanni
Brie and Nikki Bella
Beth Phoenix
Satino Morella, who iirc even had the championship when they were shitting on the division
Tamina Snuka
Natalya

....and then I guess I should note Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks, etc, although they're newer and currently active.

Of course, there were quite a few more I remembered but had to google their names because I'm drawing a blank:

Eva Marie, although she really wasn't a wrestler... or much of an entertainer

Maryse, who I liked but I couldn't remember her name. Just googled "Miz's wife"

Layla, who I absolutely loved -- although I think she was just alright in-ring -- and took me a few tries to google her. I knew she retired after a neck injury, but Paige came up for that. Then I googled "WWE Diva betrayed AJ Lee" and realized that I misremembered the specific incident and Layla had double-crossed Kaitlyn to help AJ Lee.

Stacy Keibler, whose name kept escaping me but I knew her theme was "Legs" so I googled that... and realized I forgot all about Maria Kanellis when putting together my list. Fuck!

I can't remember if Gail Kim was with the brand at any time I was watching. Oh, plus I kept drawing a blank on 's name so I left her off despite liking her. And I was really embarrassed to forget Paige, although I wasn't a fan of her anyway. Even more embarrassingly, I put together my list and realized I forgot Alexa Bliss despite seeing an image of her at least once a week and being a fan after her heel turn.

I guess the moral of the story here is that the WWE had a lot of Divas/women's wrestlers I can't remember... but somehow I'm able to remember Joy Giovanni. Go figure.
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Holy shit, just read the Spidey Far From Home spoilers (didn't feel like waiting to see it, etc) and learned that JK Simmons is back as J Jonah Jameson! Hell yeah!

Other details, regarding Mysterio's scheme seem kinda obvious, although the wiki doesn't list his motives so I'm not sure if this is being done for fame or to covertly rob places, etc. Oh well, guess I should have waited for a more detailed spoiler page.
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I might give an episode of Raw a chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzuUjCDhO-k" data-time="
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The Wave Master posted...

Just checking in to say that WWE has been really bad in and out of the ring since Mania. WWE is in that horroble hovering period until Summerslam where nothing happens, and they just have to fill 5 hours of television content a week, nor to mention that those terrible WWE Netwoek shows that P.O. is right, nobody watches.

In good wrestling I have been watch new Japan, and I watched Wrestle Kingdom and Dominion, and that was some great stuff. I wish I wasn't horsing money because the G1 is in Dallas this coming weekend, not sa ing for a house is more important. No extra trips or video games for a while.

I continue to pray that AEW winds up being a viable alternative. Though to be honest my current wrestling fandom is helped by the fact that I don't actually watch weekly TV, just the PPVs, where I get drunk and socialize with friends - which takes a LOT of the bitterness out of it.

If I was watching Raw and Smackdown every week I'd probably wind up hanging myself.



Broken_Zeus posted...

On that note, I figure I'll just list all the Divas/women's wrestlers I *can* remember from the WWE over the years (well, without seeing their name or image first)

I'm going to be honest, if you held a gun to my head and asked me to name female wrestlers who were in the WWE after the end of the Attitude Era and before the current era (so, say, between 2000-2015 or so), I'd be hard-pressed to name half that many.

Then again, I probably couldn't name most male wrestlers from that time period either.



Broken_Zeus posted...

Maryse, who I liked but I couldn't remember her name. Just googled "Miz's wife"

I've met her in real life. She's actually super nice.



Taily_Po posted...

I might give an episode of Raw a chance.

That angle happened so they could destroy the set, to justify getting a new one. Supposedly it's going to debut next week.

Also, this just happened within the last week or so, but Vince has apparently gone into panic mode and rehired Paul Heyman to be in charge of Raw and Eric Bischoff in charge of Smackdown. And not in a "on-screen authority figure" type way, in a "running things backstage and answerable only to Vince" sort of way.

Their influence probably won't really be felt full-on until after the next PPV, but people are already claiming they can feel Heyman's influence on last night's Raw, and he was definitely supposed to be behind the scenes and dealing with wrestlers, so at least some of it might be his idea.

So Raw and Smackdown might actually be worth watching in the near future, either because they've improved to the point of being entertaining if Vince's influence can be minimized, or because they've become a glorious car wreck that you can't help averting your eyes from once the wheels start coming off.


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The gimmick of a dueling Heyman and Bishoff makes it intriguing by itself.
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Makes me a bit nostalgic for old school ECW, though.

Picked up 205 Live, too. Also made for a fun watch.
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TIL: Altered Beast had a ps2 game... and then was promptly disappointed to learn it was never localized (and, ofc, the ps2 is region-locked)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mde8FWBfbxU" data-time="

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Beast_(2005_video_game)

I know it probably wasn't a great game, but goddamn does that look cool.
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Zeus posted...

I know it probably wasn't a great game, but goddamn does that look cool.

The PS2 Golden Axe should serve as a cautionary tale here.
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At least the PS2 Rygar wasn't terrible, even if it was a blatant DMC/GoW clone. Too bad it faded into obscurity.
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WhiskeyDisk posted...

At least the PS2 Rygar wasn't terrible, even if it was a blatant DMC/GoW clone. Too bad it faded into obscurity.

Liked the ps2 Rygar, didn't realize that was a sequel or remake. Oo
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Broken_Zeus posted...

WhiskeyDisk posted...

At least the PS2 Rygar wasn't terrible, even if it was a blatant DMC/GoW clone. Too bad it faded into obscurity.

Liked the ps2 Rygar, didn't realize that was a sequel or remake. Oo

The original Rygar was on the NES.
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My big sis is working on a rendition of my cover image for my big novel. I gave her a mock-up of what I wanted, along with a paragraph to explain it. She called today to clarify or confirm a few things, and say she's doing the one version without charging me for it.

She charges thousands of dollars to her clients for this kind of service. o.o;

Anyways, the turnaround time is about a week. She told me that if I don't like it, then her feelings won't be hurt and I can go with or without it. I'm confident between what I've given her and her own abilities to make things work. I'll see in a week how good it turns out. She appreciates, also, the simplicity of what I want, while also it stands out and resembles some part of my story.

With all that my big sis and I are doing it looks like one of my life dreams is happening, y'all. With a good image for the cover, a decent blurb that doesn't do the stupid, recent trend with non-words, and some beta readers likely to leave positive reviews once the eBook is on Amazon, I'm hoping it will sell well. There's one funny thing about that; my big sis subscribes to a service with a bunch of great stock photos, and if my book sells 500k copies then I'll have to pay a couple hundred bucks for an advanced license on the image she'll use for one mid-section of the whole cover image. I'll be able to spot that, but major publishers are likely to pick me up by then. At so many copies I'll be able to say I'm living the dream, free of the workforce, but one thing at a time. lol...

Just think, I'd started writing this thing in the latter third of March. I don't normally write Sci Fi, and many people who said they'd read it don't normally read Sci Fi. This could be the thing that gets one of my life dreams moving, ya know? It's exciting.
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WhiskeyDisk posted...

The original Rygar was on the NES.

Hadn't heard of it, but it looks pretty fun.

Entity13 posted...

She charges thousands of dollars to her clients for this kind of service. o.o;

She a graphic designer or a specialist in this kind of stuff?

Entity13 posted...

With all that my big sis and I are doing it looks like one of my life dreams is happening, y'all. With a good image for the cover, a decent blurb that doesn't do the stupid, recent trend with non-words, and some beta readers likely to leave positive reviews once the eBook is on Amazon, I'm hoping it will sell well. There's one funny thing about that; my big sis subscribes to a service with a bunch of great stock photos, and if my book sells 500k copies then I'll have to pay a couple hundred bucks for an advanced license on the image she'll use for one mid-section of the whole cover image. I'll be able to spot that, but major publishers are likely to pick me up by then. At so many copies I'll be able to say I'm living the dream, free of the workforce, but one thing at a time. lol...

Which would be a great problem to have, along with having to pay more taxes because your book made more money =p

And if your book is doing well self-published, I'm not sure how interested publishers would be in picking up something you've already sold a lot of. They might be interested in future works, though. Self-publication is funny, though, things either hit it big or they barely sell.
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Zeus posted...

Entity13 posted...

She charges thousands of dollars to her clients for this kind of service. o.o;

She a graphic designer or a specialist in this kind of stuff?

Graphic designer, currently self-employed.

Zeus posted...

Which would be a great problem to have, along with having to pay more taxes because your book made more money =p

And if your book is doing well self-published, I'm not sure how interested publishers would be in picking up something you've already sold a lot of. They might be interested in future works, though. Self-publication is funny, though, things either hit it big or they barely sell.

Yep, yep. That's why I'm going to do what I can with the cover image, the blurb, the reviews from beta readers, and spreading the word through various channels. I can go from there. As the novel grows in success I'll be working on other novels to publish and sell, so major publishers will have that to look forward to.
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I did see Spider-Man: Far From Home last night, and it was pretty darn good. No big surprises or twist as it is a Spider-man/Mysterio story. But my wife and I enjoyed the film last night, and it was a great time on the 4rh of July.
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There was a pretty big surprise and twist at the end, though.
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The GC version of Gauntlet Dark Legacy is so much more expensive than the ps2 one >_>

A complete ps2 copy only seems to run about $15 but the listings for the gc disc by itself seem to close around $30. I want the gc version, but I don't feel like paying all that much for it.
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Green Jester... Has gained a level
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Liked Far From Home, and the illusion scenes with Mysterio were great.
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Metalsonic66 posted...

Green Jester... Has gained a level

"Yellow Dwarf shot the food!"
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Just sayin'...no spoilers.

I'm halfway thru Stranger Things 3 and loving it.

I think they've really outdone themselves on this one.
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Was reading the wiki entry for Darth Plagueis. Goddamn Disney killed so much continuity. Thanos might have wiped out half the universe, but Mickey took out 99% of the SW canon. Who's the real villain there?!

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Darth_Plagueis/Legends

Also we're 400+ posts now. Should start debating the new name. And please don't let it be a pun on Spider-Man: Far from Home like "Spider-Geek: Far from the Theaters" or "Far from the Boards" or some rot. I'd even settle for "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Geek"... although I guess that's more of a "That Time I Got Reincarnated as an Otaku" since, even though it involves fantasy concepts, it's still anime.
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My vote is "Ganon/Bowser 2020" for the next topic title.
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*catching up on NXT and 205 Live*

Hmm. Stranger Geeks 3, perhaps?
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