2016 Pro Wrestling Thread

Ah yes, 2000 WCW. What a time to be alive.

 

I actually liked Lash LeRoux when he had a match or two as a random wrestler. Not sure why.
As for Major Gunns ... let's just say there's some clips of her floating around the internet that are more exciting than anything she ever did in WCW.
Was that whole stable supposed to be WCW's answer to DX?

 

Didn't Booker break into the business doing a G.I. Bro gimmick? I mean, it's terrible, but that one isn't all on WCW.

 

IIRC, yes. And it was gloriously awful.

 

Yep. Debuted in the WWA.

 

"Who is that in that Stng mask? He better get outta town!"

 

Yeah, he did, before teaming up with his brother as the Ebony Experience in the Global Wrestling Federation, which was on ESPN in the early 90s. They were pretty over with the fans even then.

However, it's on WCW for bringing the gimmick back. This was during the Russo era, when Russo thought everything kayfabe was stupid. I still remember a couple Hogan matches where he wore non-descript jeans and said he was going by his real name. That sort of silliness.

 

You're wasting this gold on a message board! You should do a blog, from 1 to the last Nitro. You could even call it 1,240 Nitros to Graceland, in honor of that fine film. (I will also gladly participate, if you need some recappers!)

 

There is a site out there that has done this. I've mentioned them before, but I just love the fact that the guy running the site has kept this stuff online for more than 15 years after WCW closed up shop.
It's ddtdigest.com and has recaps (from when they happened) of every Nitro. Reading the one from May 1, 2000, is kind of funny. The guy had been a regular recapper on the site, and starts this one off by basically saying, "Fuck it. I'm out."

WCW Monday Nitro - Monday, May 1st, 2000

 

Observer from July 18:

- This week’s newsletter came out before Lesnar’s PED test results. So, there’s a long portion about his future prospects with UFC. He was believed to earn double or triple his WWE salary – about $5M to $7.5M – for the one fight. He got $2.5M base, plus points on the PPV. UFC was interested in using him for more, but probably only for major shows, given the cost.

- It’s unknown how available Cena is going forward. He’s not in the advertising for a bunch of house shows he normally is, and he’s also formed his own production company, a la The Rock, and he’s getting plenty of Hollywood interest. A reader did an analysis on attendance and found that house shows without Cena are down 13 percent.

- UFC did indeed sell for $3.6B to $4B, depending on how much of the ownership was bought. Interestingly, fighters only get about 12 to 14 percent of gross revenue right now, in comparison to 50 percent (roughly) for the other majors. If they ever did unionize, it would radically alter the amount of profit the company generates.

- Shane McMahon doesn’t actually have any backstage role with WWE, and he’s told friends he has no idea how long he’ll remain on TV.

- Impact on July 5 did 410,000 viewers, up 27 percent, probably thanks to the Final Deletion video. The average viewer was 49, well-below their usual average in the high-50s, low-60s. Senor Benjamin is not Matt’s gardener, he’s actually his father-in-law.

- Starting July 21, TNA moves back to Thursdays, to get away from Smackdown.

- WWE has signed Big Damo from Revolution Pro; he did a farewell angle for the company. Damo still needs to do some medical testing, and it’s unknown if he’ll start on NXT or in development.

- ROH has contacted Cody Rhodes, but an agreement isn’t in place yet.

- Moose (ROH) has signed a two-year deal with TNA, believed to be for $75,000 to $95,000 per year, depending on the source.

- TNA’s Jeremy Borash is shopping a reality TV show project based on celebrity chef Robert Irvine and Gail Kim; they’re married, and opening a restaurant in Vegas.

- Nikki Bella is getting a scan on her neck in a few weeks. If it has healed properly, she’ll be back to training soon after.

- Neville has returned to action in some dark matches.

- Orton started training this week in Orlando for his return.

- AJ Lee’s biography is due out April 4, to coincide with Mania.

- Ashley Bornancin does the voice work for The Rock and John Cena on Camp WWE.

 

Andddd, a semi-regular listing from the Observer! Current WWE TV concepts being developed.

- Ask Me Anything Live, a Q&A show with talent.

- Everyone Has A Price, a reality memorabilia show.

- Extreme Eats, with Tommy Dreamer and Bubba Ray Dudley touring their favorite restaurants.

- 50 States, 50 Dates, another reality show focusing on dating.

- Goldberg’s Garage, about his muscle car collection.

- History of WWE, which would have an initial 10-week run, and be subject to WWE spin on “history.”

- Legends House: Attitude, which would like the old show but with Attitude era talent.

- Miz and Mrs., a reality show about him and Maryse.

- Tapout Fitness, which would be WWE stars doing their personal workout with fans.

- The Third Wheel, which would have WWE stars ‘crashing’ blind dates with fans.

- Totally NXT, an offshoot of Total Divas following six NXT divas.

- The Wives of Flair, about all of his ex-wives.

- WWE All-Access, similar to other documentary shows before a big fight.

- WWE Game Night, which would be board games and obstacle courses.

- WWE Investigates, deep dives on history aspects.

- WWE Goes Viral, smaller videos produced by talent and fans.

- WWE Promo Battle, a ‘tournament’ of talent producing promos.

- WWE Kids, a show aimed at youngsters with kids doing interviews and commentary.

- WWE Roast, which would be a roast show with WWE legends grilling each other, a la Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.

- WWE Superstars Search, a.k.a. the Divas Search with a new title.

 

Draft rules are up. Raw gets first pick and 3 picks for every 2 Smackdown picks. Tag teams are chosen together unless the GM doesn't want bother guys. Appears they may split the women's division (mistake).

6 NXT stars will be drafted. It doesn't say if this is a minimum, maximum or if nxt tag teams count as 1 or 2.

Anyone else coming around to the idea that debuting Balor as just another guy in the draft is a botch?