The Official Professional Wrestling Thread

[Sativa Lung]

Droz is one of the best examples of laughing in the face of tragedy I know of. Just a great example of the good part of humanity. Amazing attitude and sense of humor and one tough motherfucker. Sad to hear that.

[SHAQUEEFA]

Yeah his interviews on Dark Side were really good, and totally agree with his positive attitude and the way he mentally dealt with the accident showed he was a total pro. Never once blamed D-Lo and always spoke well of him. Just accepted that it was one of those things that can happen in the ring.

Godspeed to another childhood hero.

HE'S, HE'S, HE'S GONNA PUUUUUUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Kamikazi]

LA Knight getting robbed at MITB tonight. Definitely knew it’s going to be Priest but man, at the very end Knight had it. I just hope Triple H doesn’t bury him.

Gunther retains which is grand
Wanted to see Balor beat Rollins especially with the history between the two.

[Atiba Applebum]

LA Knight getting robbed at MITB tonight. Definitely knew it’s going to be Priest but man, at the very end Knight had it. I just hope Triple H doesn’t bury him.

Gunther retains which is grand
Wanted to see Balor beat Rollins especially with the history between the two.

I think they’re doing it bc they’re higher on Judgement Day internally than LA Knight and it will probably lead to some drama with Finn

Caught a bit of a LA Knight promo - def see where those accusations of ripping off The Rock and Stone Cold come from, but it’s what sells

[BallDontLie]

Fun watch…. Two legends.

[Billy Bitchcakes]

Just watched a bit of MITB. I stopped watching WWE years ago but every time I see any of the Bloodline story it kinda makes me wish I still watched it. The video package alone for the main event was amazing. I dunno why tf it didn't cross my mind to get a ticket to go to this. Not sure what Cena was trying to do there but if All In leads to WM being held in London then that's pretty funny.

Anyone on here going to All In?

[Kook Me Amadeus]

How does someone get into wrestling who never watched consistently or kept up with storylines over the years.  I know some of the names but want to start following properly.  Is there any particular event coming I should start with?  Or an old classic to spark me?  It feels like I’m missing out on some fun.

[Billy Bitchcakes]

Depends what you want to watch and how much you want to keep up with it. I think if you just throw yourself in blind it's not that hard to catch up with characters and storylines, they're all pretty simplistic. I would check out WWE by watching a Raw (Mondays) and Smackdown (Fridays), and / or AEW with Dynamite (Wednesdays) and Collision (Saturdays). Personally I think AEW is better but it's subjective. You can watch the newest eps here ‍☠️. It's not essential viewing so if you're not committed to following anything along every week it's not hard to catch up to speed if you miss a load.

If you just want to take a peek and see if you enjoy it, I'd recommend watching the main event from Money In the Bank last night (Starts at 31 mins on part 3 on that site I linked above) and Omega vs Osprey from Forbidden Door (same site 10 mins on part 3)

Who are the names you know? Anything / anyone in particular you're aware of and want to follow?

[Kook Me Amadeus]

Depends what you want to watch and how much you want to keep up with it. I think if you just throw yourself in blind it's not that hard to catch up with characters and storylines, they're all pretty simplistic. I would check out WWE by watching a Raw (Mondays) and Smackdown (Fridays), and / or AEW with Dynamite (Wednesdays) and Collision (Saturdays). Personally I think AEW is better but it's subjective. You can watch the newest eps here ‍☠️. It's not essential viewing so if you're not committed to following anything along every week it's not hard to catch up to speed if you miss a load.

If you just want to take a peek and see if you enjoy it, I'd recommend watching the main event from Money In the Bank last night (Starts at 31 mins on part 3 on that site I linked above) and Omega vs Osprey from Forbidden Door (same site 10 mins on part 3)

Who are the names you know? Anything / anyone in particular you're aware of and want to follow?

Hell yeah, thanks for all the suggestions.  I know close to nothing, but more than say, a mom.  I just know all the huge names that have crossed over.  I had a little Undertaker action figure as a kid, watched in the HHH era and always was fascinated by the McMahon family - but all the different franchises were a little past my comprehension haha.  I think if I watch consistently it’ll start to click.

[Billy Bitchcakes]

Yeah that makes sense. There are so many different promotions but honestly if you're just getting in to it you can ignore all the others. AEW and WWE are the only major ones on TV every week with big star names. They both have a pretty different feel so check them both out and see what you prefer.

[Sativa Lung]

BB already covered most of the specifics but if you want to see if the "style" of modern wrestling is up your alley check out Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay from the recent Forbidden Door ppv. It's pretty much guaranteed to win match of the year. If it bores you then this might not be for you, but if you can flip off the part of your brain that says "that punch didn't really land" and just get into the performers and story they're telling its a lot of fun when it's good.

My subjective opinion is also that AEW is better, but it wouldn't be fair not mentioning that WWE is better than it's been in a long time. I personally just can't get past the fact all the money goes to a creepy old misogynist rapist.

[Atiba Applebum]

BB already covered most of the specifics but if you want to see if the "style" of modern wrestling is up your alley check out Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay from the recent Forbidden Door ppv. It's pretty much guaranteed to win match of the year. If it bores you then this might not be for you, but if you can flip off the part of your brain that says "that punch didn't really land" and just get into the performers and story they're telling its a lot of fun when it's good.

My subjective opinion is also that AEW is better, but it wouldn't be fair not mentioning that WWE is better than it's been in a long time. I personally just can't get past the fact all the money goes to a creepy old misogynist rapist.

Same here on the creepy old misogynist part.   Also, I don’t think much of HHH either but he’s had a Kobe-level reputation 180 since retiring from the ring

[Kook Me Amadeus]

Great insights.

Definitely appreciate all the athleticism at play, I watched Tough Enough back in the day and am intrigued by the kayfabe aspects- Pat McAfee in a neck brace on his show, days after a match was great.  I really dig the commitment to the storylines.  Always have just been intimidated by the depth of the sport.  Excited to dive in.

[Atiba Applebum]

Great insights.

Definitely appreciate all the athleticism at play, I watched Tough Enough back in the day and am intrigued by the kayfabe aspects- Pat McAfee in a neck brace on his show, days after a match was great.  I really dig the commitment to the storylines.  Always have just been intimidated by the depth of the sport.  Excited to dive in.

Honestly, I’d recommend Dark Side of the Ring first and foremost

[Kook Me Amadeus]

Expand Quote

Great insights.

Definitely appreciate all the athleticism at play, I watched Tough Enough back in the day and am intrigued by the kayfabe aspects- Pat McAfee in a neck brace on his show, days after a match was great.  I really dig the commitment to the storylines.  Always have just been intimidated by the depth of the sport.  Excited to dive in.

[close]

Honestly, I’d recommend Dark Side of the Ring first and foremost

Oh shit I didn’t realize Jason Eisener made that show.  Big fan of him.  Stoked.

[Mr. Kamikazi]

Great insights.

Definitely appreciate all the athleticism at play, I watched Tough Enough back in the day and am intrigued by the kayfabe aspects- Pat McAfee in a neck brace on his show, days after a match was great.  I really dig the commitment to the storylines.  Always have just been intimidated by the depth of the sport.  Excited to dive in.

Do you have Peacock? The WWE channel is on there & you can watch WCW, ECW & all of the previous pay per views. I personally enjoyed jumping back into WCW (early 90’s) because that’s what I grew up on. The Ruthless Aggression era of WWE 02-08 ruled & had some truly great wrestling from Kurt Angle, Lesnar, Benoit, Jericho, Orton with Evolution, even some Goldberg. Good Undertaker matches too as you can see his American Badass phase & the transition back to the Deadman.

[Kook Me Amadeus]

Expand Quote

Great insights.

Definitely appreciate all the athleticism at play, I watched Tough Enough back in the day and am intrigued by the kayfabe aspects- Pat McAfee in a neck brace on his show, days after a match was great.  I really dig the commitment to the storylines.  Always have just been intimidated by the depth of the sport.  Excited to dive in.

[close]

Do you have Peacock? The WWE channel is on there & you can watch WCW, ECW & all of the previous pay per views. I personally enjoyed jumping back into WCW (early 90’s) because that’s what I grew up on. The Ruthless Aggression era of WWE 02-08 ruled & had some truly great wrestling from Kurt Angle, Lesnar, Benoit, Jericho, Orton with Evolution, even some Goldberg. Good Undertaker matches too as you can see his American Badass phase & the transition back to the Deadman.

I do!  Awesome idea.  Thanks!

[Sativa Lung]

My take on HHH is he's a bit of a himbo and definitely an ass kisser, but I'll take that over straight up evil old VKM who would feed his children to lions and eat the leftovers himself live on PPV for the right price. He's done some really shitty things but I do wonder if some of it wasnt just Vinces awfulness latching on to everything around it. I won't give him a pass, but I would have given him a chance had it not all been bullshit and there actually been consequences for Vince fucking raping half a dozen women.

The best thing about peacock is the NWA/WCW and world class libraries. They have mid south too I think, but that might be a little too wrasslin for a younger or newer fan. It's a lot more punch kick and psychology based, the "high spots" are like vertical suplexes and body slams. It's cool to see the actual dudes from all the crazy stories though and I love the "you better make it look like it's real or by god it's going to be" kayfabe mentality. I won't say it looks like an actual fight,but it looks a lot more like one.

[Atiba Applebum]

My take on HHH is he's a bit of a himbo and definitely an ass kisser, but I'll take that over straight up evil old VKM who would feed his children to lions and eat the leftovers himself live on PPV for the right price. He's done some really shitty things but I do wonder if some of it wasnt just Vinces awfulness latching on to everything around it. I won't give him a pass, but I would have given him a chance had it not all been bullshit and there actually been consequences for Vince fucking raping half a dozen women.

The best thing about peacock is the NWA/WCW and world class libraries. They have mid south too I think, but that might be a little too wrasslin for a younger or newer fan. It's a lot more punch kick and psychology based, the "high spots" are like vertical suplexes and body slams. It's cool to see the actual dudes from all the crazy stories though and I love the "you better make it look like it's real or by god it's going to be" kayfabe mentality. I won't say it looks like an actual fight,but it looks a lot more like one.

Agreed, but being the catalyst for the Screw Job and the treatment of Chyna (as well as likely politicking for things like the Booker T storyline) just bums me out about him.

Man Vince sucks.   That book that came out about him feels like it just scratched the surface, but it did really bring to light what huge butt buddies him and Trump are

[Billy Bitchcakes]

My biggest bummer abotut Vince is that everyone knew why he retired, the allegations were damning and disgusting, but when he reared his head again all anyone cared about was whether he was going to start interfering with the show again. It's like everyone had completely forgotten what had happened only a few months earlier.

[Atiba Applebum]

My biggest bummer abotut Vince is that everyone knew why he retired, the allegations were damning and disgusting, but when he reared his head again all anyone cared about was whether he was going to start interfering with the show again. It's like everyone had completely forgotten what had happened only a few months earlier.

Right and now they’re at a happy medium with it.   Getting that Endeavor money, still getting that Saudi money, making Logan Paul acceptable to people

[blurst_of_times]

Hyped that Iyo Skye won MITB. One of the most exciting additions to the main roster in the last year.

Funny that people are trying to tear LA Knight down for 'copying' The Rock/Stone Cold - as if no previous wrestler ever has drawn influence from others. I'm a big mark, whatever, but I think he's killing it and I love the pops he gets.

I have the newest book about Vince on my list to read. Any of y'all listen to his Behind The Bastards series? A six-parter. There's some truly horrific stuff in there, including the Ring Boy scandal, which I'd never heard of before.

[Atiba Applebum]

Hyped that Iyo Skye won MITB. One of the most exciting additions to the main roster in the last year.

Funny that people are trying to tear LA Knight down for 'copying' The Rock/Stone Cold - as if no previous wrestler ever has drawn influence from others. I'm a big mark, whatever, but I think he's killing it and I love the pops he gets.

I have the newest book about Vince on my list to read. Any of y'all listen to his Behind The Bastards series? A six-parter. There's some truly horrific stuff in there, including the Ring Boy scandal, which I'd never heard of before.

It’s even weirder that Pat Patterson still seemed to be held in high regard after that scandal and to his death as he was one of the perpetrators. 

[Sativa Lung]

Expand Quote

Hyped that Iyo Skye won MITB. One of the most exciting additions to the main roster in the last year.

Funny that people are trying to tear LA Knight down for 'copying' The Rock/Stone Cold - as if no previous wrestler ever has drawn influence from others. I'm a big mark, whatever, but I think he's killing it and I love the pops he gets.

I have the newest book about Vince on my list to read. Any of y'all listen to his Behind The Bastards series? A six-parter. There's some truly horrific stuff in there, including the Ring Boy scandal, which I'd never heard of before.

[close]

It’s even weirder that Pat Patterson still seemed to be held in high regard after that scandal and to his death as he was one of the perpetrators.

I don't know if Patterson was actually ever really nailed down to that, I thought he just got lumped in by Murray Hodgson (who was suing the wwf for firing him after pat apparently propositioned him and he refused, he was definitely of age though) and Billy Graham (a known and admitted liar when it comes to these things) because he was gay and it wasn't all that long ago that people thought all gays were pedophiles. I believe he almost got deported over it in the 60s when he was working Portland and it was an open secret to the point he was the only guy Savage trusted to watch Elizabeth when he was in the ring.

I know Terry Garvin and Mel Phillips were genuine predators though, Phillips had a foot fetish in addition to his predilection for young men and there's a story in Bret Harts book about him sucking toes in addition to these gems from the FBI memos



Now here's the fucked up part... according to Bitz and Meltzer, Vince not only knew about all of this years before the fact but he even fired him for it at one point, then rehired him because he cares more about having a ring announcer than the innocence of his child fans.

[Atiba Applebum]

The VKM book tells a diff story about PP sexually harassing someone by ribbing a new wrestler by making them think he was going to have to blow him at the end of the car trip…but the person who is telling the story is  Hogan and I don’t know if the author is savvy enough to know how suspect anything Hulk says is (though that seems a very different avenue than Hogan’s usual fabrications bc it’s told with shame at how scared he was about the whole thing)

[Atiba Applebum]

I was listening to a non-wrestling podcast and one of the hosts asked their wrestling fan producer of the championship belts had third party naming rights sold (e.g the Snickers(tm) Intercontinental Championship) …and I gotta say, I’m really surprised the Fed has never tried that

[Sativa Lung]

The VKM book tells a diff story about PP sexually harassing someone by ribbing a new wrestler by making them think he was going to have to blow him at the end of the car trip…but the person who is telling the story is  Hogan and I don’t know if the author is savvy enough to know how suspect anything Hulk says is (though that seems a very different avenue than Hogan’s usual fabrications bc it’s told with shame at how scared he was about the whole thing)

Oh there's definitely plenty of stories about Pat doing that kind of thing, just not to kids. From what I understand he really just kind of got lumped in with them in the ring boy thing because of the fact that he was gay and friends with Garvin. The fact he was fired at the same time as Garvin and ole Toehole Phillips doesn't do him any favors looking back at it now but when I researched it years ago I remember coming away with the sense that they had a mini purple panic and just canned everyone who wasn't straight.

There's still accusations that get thrown around about who actually followed through on it and got a push as a result, a lot of people suspect Piper was one because of his push and an interview he gave a few years before he died, but iirc he kind of tip toed around the subject. I've also heard the inverse, like the reason Barry O was the only Orton to never get a push is because he refused Garvin, who used his relationship with Pat to blackball him and make him a jobber.

So I guess I don't think Pat is squeaky clean, but I do think theres some wrestling fan biases that seeped into the way people talked about it...like if he were straight people would have just called it politicking or something but because he was approaching other dudes he was now some kind of dangerous predator.

[Atiba Applebum]

Expand Quote

The VKM book tells a diff story about PP sexually harassing someone by ribbing a new wrestler by making them think he was going to have to blow him at the end of the car trip…but the person who is telling the story is  Hogan and I don’t know if the author is savvy enough to know how suspect anything Hulk says is (though that seems a very different avenue than Hogan’s usual fabrications bc it’s told with shame at how scared he was about the whole thing)

[close]

Oh there's definitely plenty of stories about Pat doing that kind of thing, just not to kids. From what I understand he really just kind of got lumped in with them in the ring boy thing because of the fact that he was gay and friends with Garvin. The fact he was fired at the same time as Garvin and ole Toehole Phillips doesn't do him any favors looking back at it now but when I researched it years ago I remember coming away with the sense that they had a mini purple panic and just canned everyone who wasn't straight.

There's still accusations that get thrown around about who actually followed through on it and got a push as a result, a lot of people suspect Piper was one because of his push and an interview he gave a few years before he died, but iirc he kind of tip toed around the subject. I've also heard the inverse, like the reason Barry O was the only Orton to never get a push is because he refused Garvin, who used his relationship with Pat to blackball him and make him a jobber.

So I guess I don't think Pat is squeaky clean, but I do think theres some wrestling fan biases that seeped into the way people talked about it...like if he were straight people would have just called it politicking or something but because he was approaching other dudes he was now some kind of dangerous predator.

That makes a lot of sense.  I just listened to the cornette memorial clip on his and def gave me a bit more of a fuller picture of him and his career (although you did a much better job with the scandal) and def agree now that it definitely seems he was lumped in bc he was gay as well

[Mr. Kamikazi]

Hyped that Iyo Skye won MITB. One of the most exciting additions to the main roster in the last year.

Funny that people are trying to tear LA Knight down for 'copying' The Rock/Stone Cold - as if no previous wrestler ever has drawn influence from others. I'm a big mark, whatever, but I think he's killing it and I love the pops he gets.

I have the newest book about Vince on my list to read. Any of y'all listen to his Behind The Bastards series? A six-parter. There's some truly horrific stuff in there, including the Ring Boy scandal, which I'd never heard of before.

LA Knight rules. Period. And well said. It’s as if fans think every new guy/gal is the first wheel.

[Sativa Lung]

Should also note it's worth watching the Donahue episode where they talk about the scandal for a few reasons. One is that it's just nostalgic to see an old school studio audience talk show before they devolved into a poor imitation of attitude era wrestling. Another is it's fun to watch Vince squirm and try to wriggle his way out of it all. It is also interesting to see how normalized homophobia was at the time, it should give younger folks some insight into why "boomers" seem so dense when it comes to things like treating people different from you like humans.