Board 8 > All-Purpose Wrestling Topic Part 507: The Peacemaker's Here

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've said it before but R-Truth is a national treasure and a first ballot hall of famer.

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You can always watchwrestling in the internet.

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AEW fans are throwing a fit because Domino's has or is planning on pulling ads from airing during Dynamite. Apparently they didn't like the Gage/Jericho match.

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In particular, right after Gage cut Jericho open with a pizza cutter they went directly into a picture-in-picture ad for Domino's. While the pizza cutter was still being used as a weapon in the little screen, blood everywhere.

Brilliant on production's side, but I can see why corporate would be pissed.

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Also:

https://twitter.com/TheMattCardona/status/1420915919874895878?s=20

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TheRock1525 posted...

I'm just hoping Cult of Personality hits and out walks Jeff Hardy.

ftfy

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Bray Wyatt has been released

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if this is true

l m f a o

E:
https://twitter.com/wwe/status/1421511238635376646?s=21

lmaooooikkoo

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Looks like the Dark Order is gonna have a new leader.

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Al that buildup for the Fiend to just use him as a boost for Alexa. Fire Vince.

AEW must be loving this.

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What if the long con from the E is to get aew to collapse under the weight of it's own bloated roster?

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Why

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Sounds like Alexa Bliss had to lock her Twitter account because people are blaming her for Wyatt's release.

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Randy Orton last Wyatt standing.

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FFDragon posted...

if this is true

l m f a o

E:
https://twitter.com/wwe/status/1421511238635376646?s=21

lmaooooikkoo

Only Wyatt was released! They still have The Fiend

Just kidding, of course they don't have The Fiend

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Now the real question is if they still have sister Abigail under contract.

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ZeroSignal620 posted...

Only Wyatt was released! They still have The Fiend

Just kidding, of course they don't have The Fiend

Just you wait until Otis is hosting the FFH.

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Looking at it now, the 2015 Rumble was only 6 years ago and the roster's depleted from it.

Miz
R Truth
Bubba Ray Dudley
Harper
Wyatt
Axel
Boogeyman
Sin Cara
Ryder
Bryan
Fandango
Tyson Kidd
Cody
DDP
Rusev
Goldust
Kofi
Adam Rose
Reigns
Big E
Sandow
Swagger
Ryback
Kane
Ambrose
Titus
Barrett
Cesaro
Big Show
Ziggler

Bold = still signed with WWE. Of those 11 remaining, only 7 actively wrestle. Barrett's a commentator, Tyson's a producer, Titus has mostly been doing backstage work, and Kane's still signed but is definitely a mayor now.


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Fastbreak posted...

Why

https://twitter.com/wonf4w/status/1421527533032443906?s=21

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this has to feed into the rumors of WWE cutting costs for a potential sale

otherwise I don't understand how they need to cut costs I thought they were making money hand over fist from fox and nbc

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Why do they cut the people that can make money

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They are. They just released Q2 financials this week. Exceeded profit expectations

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gotta pay Goldberg all the money for two matches a year

also Goldberg squashing Wyatt was pretty much the end of his career in E, so everything is related

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https://twitter.com/MickieJames/status/1421525957735849986

Mickie spitting lava over here watch out

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I should clarify that they exceeded revenue expectations, not necessarily profit.

Peacock still owes them a lot on the Network acquisition

https://twitter.com/brandonthurston/status/1421519058416046082?s=21

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It feels like WWE has over the past several months finally accepted the fact that AEW is here to stay and is reaching a level of influence/prestige close to their's, kinda what WCW was to WWE around 1994-Early 1995. We all know that they've been hoarding talent for years now to stop any promotion from gaining momentum, and it is clear that strategy is no longer going to work. Now that there are plenty of options for talent, I think WWE recognises there's no point in having such a bloated roster anymore that is just wasting money and is cutting anyone that isn't worth their salary (such as anyone who has little relevence anymore, anyone who negotiated hard for a better contract and any top guys that are not delivering the goods anymore).

So yeah, might as well release a bunch of wrestlers and hope that works against AEW in some way in that signing those guys will bloat AEW's roster further and possibly create opportunities where some prospects jump ship in the future because they've realised they're not going to get any higher on the ladder (similar to how HHH, Austin and Foley ultimately went from WCW to WWE).

Also, at this point, WWE should just go back to uniting the RAW and Smackdown brands and just build two or three big matches/angles on each show. They'll be better off having some of their top stars appear in angles to hype up their feuds on one show then wrestle on the other show.

As for Wyatt, I'm sure he'll fit right in with IMPACT Wrestling. They could really use with something similar to what Matt Hardy provided years ago and Wyatt could be the perfect person to fill that void (as in, similar to his Firefly Funhouse promos and the occassional cinematic match).

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paulg235 posted...

Also, at this point, WWE should just go back to uniting the RAW and Smackdown brands

This wont happen so long as the brands serve different networks, but if the rift between Fox and WWE is real, I expect SD to come back into the NBCU fold in 2024. Then theyll reunite the rosters probably

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Also I had a theory that Bray specifically was released today because it would mean his non-compete would be up on Halloween

But if its budget cuts then thats just a fun coincidence

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I hope aew doesnt sign him. TNA can grab him.

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Kind of surprised that if it's for budget reasons, it was just a lone release. They usually come in groups.

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Famous last words <_<

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Also noted Anti-Vaxxer Sasha Banks came back last night and turned heel again.

Comfortable with back stabs, but not needle stabs.

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Three records Rock has in WWE that may never be broken, all which were set in 2000

Most Raw main events in one year - 38
Most SD main events in one year - 36
Most PPV main events in one year - 12 (tied with Austin who had 12 in 2001)

Out of curiosity, I looked up every main event for this year's Raw and SD up to now and no one comes close. McIntyre leads Raw with 12. Bryan, Zayn, and Jey lead SD with 8

Without looking extensively, Cena's probably come closer than anyone else to the ppv record, having 9 main event appearances in 2007 and nearly had 10 before his injury.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Kind of surprised that if it's for budget reasons, it was just a lone release. They usually come in groups.

Dave ended up clearing this up. They wanted to release him on one of the other waves of releases but they were polite enough to wait until he was medically cleared instead of releasing him while he was out for medical reasons

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"Polite enough"

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That was my editorializing. I dont think theyve cared for lesser people before!

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From SRS:

A major WWE contract was expiring recently in that of former NXT Champion Adam Cole.

Wrestling Inc reported that Coles deal is up after Summerslam, and that it had been an extension following Great American Bash. There was an assumption internally that Coles WWE contract expired in December, but WWE sources have reached out and noted that they became aware that the deal was actually up in early July, which came as a surprise to many at the top of the company as they only realized shortly before the expiration of the deal. Despite that, were told that Adam Cole expressed to WWE that he was willing to work through Summerslam weekend and re-evaluate things. WWE sources put over Cole for being open to doing that as opposed to just appearing on another program without any notice by WWE. We were not told it if was a verbal agreement or if he signed a short-term extension.

There was once word within WWE that Cole had actually signed a new deal when the USA Network agreement came to be, but that was not the case, despite the internal rumors. Were told there was significant frustration and heat within the company that this came so close to the wire, but WWE sources again put over Cole for being easy to deal with.

I mean, I'm sure HHH will want to pay him a shitload to stay around, but I can't imagine Cole looking at how hot AEW is right now and not joining them. Especially with all his friends (and girlfriend) there.

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When will AEW have too bloated a roster? It feels like everybody is going there.

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XIII_rocks posted...

When will AEW have too bloated a roster? It feels like everybody is going there.

once they sign someone bad (bray wyatt)

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XIII_rocks posted...

When will AEW have too bloated a roster? It feels like everybody is going there.

If not for the fact that they have another show starting soon I would say they already do.

Like when is the last time Colt, Janela, or Sonny Kiss wrestled on tv?

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Over the course of next year all the original contacts will start to expire and maybe the roster will start to thin?

Its tough when literally no one has had the chance to leave yet unless its an extraordinary issue like Jimmy Havoc or a COVID travel release request like Bea Priestly

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Cody explained a lot of these people have pretty loose contracts. Their bottom tier contract only pays when they get used for example and the next one up has a pretty low downside for talent they don't plan to get much out of


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Eddv posted...

Cody explained a lot of these people have pretty loose contracts. Their bottom tier contract only pays when they get used for example and the next one up has a pretty low downside for talent they don't plan to get much out of

Which seems like the right way to do it.

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Ric Flair asked for and got his release.

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They're going to lose Charlotte soon. Apparently backstage morale is really, really low after Bray getting released.

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XIII_rocks posted...

When will AEW have too bloated a roster? It feels like everybody is going there.

Don't they already have more people signed than are on the main roster of WWE with half the TV time even counting Rampage? I'm pretty sure they're already meeting any definition of a bloated roster that doesn't disavow the very concept.

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Considering they have a FOURTH show coming (not a second), I fail to see how they meet the standards of bloated.

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Can we really count Dark and Elevation? I mean, its non-TV shows that do, what, 100k views on Youtube?

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Just looking at last week, Dark has 235k views and Elevation has 438k

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They struggle to even find TV time for a lot of the people they're supposedly high on, large chunks of their roster spend weeks or months at a time doing nothing but the occasional jobber squash on a youtube show where the commentary team doesn't even treat it like it's very serious, they have a ton of factions and some of them are weirdly large as if it's just a way to feature more people, Dynamite tends to move at a break neck pace with pre- and post-match brawls everywhere and cutting from segment to segment super fast so they can squeeze more talent onto each show, they can barely find time for the women's division at all except cramming it in at the last minute (granted that problem is likely caused by more than just roster size), etc. I think it's pretty hard to deny their roster is bloated when they struggle to feature anyone beyond the top stars consistently, give people supposed break out moments only for them to vanish from TV for a while and do so despite a booking philosophy that seems geared towards trying to find reason to fit as many onto a show as they can.

Dark and Elevation don't really help much because neither is watched all that much and both are very heavy on jobber squashes and light on stories, especially story progression for big names. It's just hard to feel like an appearance carries much weight when it's on a show where nothing much of consequence happens. Elevation is like, Main Event/205 Live tier at most for a WWE comparison and Dark is beneath that. I cite the upcoming Rampage because it's televised and it sounds like they intend to treat it at least close to Dynamite in status.

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