(I understand it's not a T-Shirt, but even $25 for one of those things is ridiculous. And by "We", I mean parents that bring their kids to house shows)
To be fair, their black Friday sale online sucked. I get an email saying they are offering almost 80% to 90% with free shipping. Click on the link and I get sent to the replica belts, drooling only to find out the sale doesn't count for them. After ten minutes of searching around, I find the only other thing I want is the blu rays. They are 20% off on their Blu Rays. So, fuck that. I blame HHH.
Originally posted by thecubsfanBut Vince also comes off as a guy who talk people into doing crazy insane things to make Vince happy - I think it was Justin elsewhere who mentioned noted Jericho sees Vince as almost a father figure he's always trying to please (even more than a boss.) It seems like a lot of people who work for WWE end up feeling that way and that's just how he's able to get what he wants.
More concerning for the future is not HHH's past poor booking* is that it doesn't seem like the wrestlers have the same affinity for him.
It's possible that those from NXT may have a different opinion. On the main shows HHH is really just the guy that has to implement Vince's schemes, but it sounds like he's more "in charge" down there.
I listened this morning (streaming via that YouTube link - it's finally listed on iTunes but you get an error message every time it tries to actually download). And as other have said, it's Punk's side of the story obviously but you can't help but sympathize with him when it came to his declining health (physical AND mental) and their continued attempts to just shove him back out there. I never faulted him for leaving, I just wish he could've gotten a proper sendoff and closure on his career, and it seems incredibly unlikely to happen at this point.
Originally posted by Alpha DogPunk's Triple H impressions are outstanding.
Outside of the really obvious enlightening bits about how WWE treats his talent (which we've all known, but has never been spoken of so frankly by a relevant star), Punk basically confirmed a lot of the booking concerns I had about him in 2013.
I don't think he should have lost the match to Brock at SummerSlam. Not when you consider his 2013 record (losing to Rock, losing to Rock, losing to Taker, feuding with Jericho, and then afterwards feuding with Ryback). Since Brock wound up breaking the streak anyway, no one would have really cared that he lost to Punk before that. Not that WM30 was planned in advance or anything.
The only areas I disagree with Punk on are his opinion of his worth (he was making as much as the wrestling business will ever allow him), and his idea for not dropping the belt to The Rock. I like the idea of Rock/Cena/Punk as a three-way at WM29, but Punk losing to The Rock made sense at the time. Punk/Taker for the title would never have worked since Taker was taking off after WM29 and only worked one SmackDown that year.
Punk also makes this great point about part time wrestlers coming in, getting wins in WrestleMania or other big events and then disappearing. He's right its really got to suck for full time guys to bust their asses all year and then get pushed down the card when it counts. Then you click over to the Raw thread where we are discussing matchups ... Between part time guys.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoPunk also makes this great point about part time wrestlers coming in, getting wins in WrestleMania or other big events and then disappearing. He's right its really got to suck for full time guys to bust their asses all year and then get pushed down the card when it counts. Then you click over to the Raw thread where we are discussing matchups ... Between part time guys.
Yeah, but I think the standards are different when it's Part Timer vs Part Timer. Also, Undertaker Streak Matches were always in a category of their own.
At WrestleMania 29, I didn't really care about HHH vs Lesnar, because they were on their own island and who won or lost didn't really effect anyone else anywhere on the card. Sure, Taker vs Punk should have been higher on the card than that, and that match was particularly relevant that year, but card placement is where it really matters.
Floyd Mayweather vs Big Show gets its time and they can do whatever the hell they want with that for the sake of selling more buys. But if Floyd Mayweather was coming in to beat Edge or Kennedy or whoever was big at the time, then it's an issue.
Considering Taker dropped the streak to Lesnar this past year, I think Punk could have beaten Taker and we'd have been fine and Punk may even have stuck around. Maybe.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
That the universe was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, I will no more believe than that the accidental jumbling of the alphabet would fall into a most ingenious treatise of philosophy - Swift
I listened on a long car ride and that two hours flew by. Punk is a great talker and storyteller and really has a way of putting things. It's a shame that the WWE couldn't have given him some kind of announcing gig while he was healing up from all those injuries.
Originally posted by dwatersI listened on a long car ride and that two hours flew by. Punk is a great talker and storyteller and really has a way of putting things. It's a shame that the WWE couldn't have given him some kind of announcing gig while he was healing up from all those injuries.
Kim Kardashian's ass tried to break the internet a couple weeks ago and FAILED. Who knew it would take a CM Punk/Colt Cabana pipebombpodcast to do the trick?? Colt Cabana's external podcast archive page (http://tsmradio.com/coltcabana/) was "uncooperative" on Friday and is completely down as I type this, and I'm also told that the podcast is STILL undownloadable from iTunes? Crazy! Thank Goodness for YouTube. I gave the intervew TWO listens while I was in the office by myself on Friday and I'll listen again today after lunch (I'll listen to a podcast episode several times if I like it enough. Ask me how many times I listened to Stone Cold interview Mick Foley from a couple months ago! [Please dont ask]).
Anywho, I have speculative questions:
Do we see some sort of response/reaction tonight on Raw? Someone already suggested the possible debut of "Lil CM Punk".
After listening, I had hoped for AJ's sake that all the "she's done with WWE" rumors I'd read last week after last Monday's Raw were true, but then she did a run-in on Nikki Bella's match with Emma on Smackdown. She didnt get any mic time and nothing significant happened, so they always could've cut it out before it aired on Friday, but maybe it was too late for that? (This isnt really a question, I know)
Interesting timing having Vince appear on "Stone Cold's Podcast" (which is completely different from PodcastOne's "Steve Austin Show" apparently) -LIVE- tonight on the WWENet after Raw. Probably just a big ol' coincidence, unless Vince knew the Punk interview was coming before we did? Does Vince address any of it with Austin? Does Steve even get to ask about it? (Are they talking to each other in person??) Seems almost petty/beneath Vince to respond to an ex-employee's gripes & claims* like that, but he has to say SOMETHING right??
* - Not to belittle anything Punk said. Some of it seemed pretty serious.
This whole thing almost reminds me of the Montreal Screwjob. Not the actual match/result, but of Bret's post-match comments in the lockerroom when he told the other guys something to the effect of "If he did this to me, he'll sure as hell do it to you". Made me think of how many other WWE guys are walking around right now believeing Vince "owes them one". I'd have to assume company morale would be pretty low right now, but based on how Punk describes the place, maybe morale was already pretty low?
I dont follow too many WWE guys on Twitter. I saw someone c&p RyBack's responses above, but is anyone saying anything else or are they all (smartly) keeping their mouths shut?
Originally posted by DJ FrostyFreezeDo we see some sort of response/reaction tonight on Raw? Someone already suggested the possible debut of "Lil CM Punk".
Someone on the Observer board suggested putting AJ into a storyline relationship with The Ryback.
Does Vince address any of it with Austin? Does Steve even get to ask about it? (Are they talking to each other in person??)
Dunno if it's in person but Austin is saying that nothing is off limits. Which doesn't mean Vince will or won't say anything worth discussing.
Made me think of how many other WWE guys are walking around right now believeing Vince "owes them one". I'd have to assume company morale would be pretty low right now, but based on how Punk describes the place, maybe morale was already pretty low?
I'd have to assume it was. Payoffs are down. The talent doesn't even know how they get paid. Zack Ryder got over on his own and got his legs cut out from under him. If the wrestlers don't like it, they have no place to go and, in most cases, can't use their names.
is anyone saying anything else or are they all (smartly) keeping their mouths shut?
I understand everyone is keeping quiet. I heard a few guys tweeted a picture of Colt with the tagline "break the internet" but didn't see it for myself.
I think Punk confirmed what we were thinking about Make-A-Wish and how all the wrestlers do so much, yet they only want to talk about Cena and his work.
I will never understand these stories of wrestlers and how they just "forget" to cash checks, especially those ranging in five or six figures.
Why is WWE still issuing paper checks in 2014? Isn't all payroll done by electronic transfer in this day and age?
Originally posted by dwatersI think Punk confirmed what we were thinking about Make-A-Wish and how all the wrestlers do so much, yet they only want to talk about Cena and his work.
I don't think it confirms anything of the sort. Punk is literally the first person to try and claim that Cena is just doing what everyone else does. Every other person ever asked is quick to acknowledge that he's a machine for that sort of thing. And if I recall correctly even Punk's statement was something along the lines of "when I was champion I did just as many". Well, that's kind of the point. Cena doesn't just do this stuff when he's champion. He does it every week of every month of every year regardless of where he is on the card or what fake title he might be holding.
Originally posted by dwatersI will never understand these stories of wrestlers and how they just "forget" to cash checks, especially those ranging in five or six figures.
Why is WWE still issuing paper checks in 2014? Isn't all payroll done by electronic transfer in this day and age?
To answer your question, read your previous sentence.
Originally posted by dwatersI will never understand these stories of wrestlers and how they just "forget" to cash checks, especially those ranging in five or six figures.
Why is WWE still issuing paper checks in 2014? Isn't all payroll done by electronic transfer in this day and age?
To answer your question, read your previous sentence.
Listened to Part 2 this morning. The initial plan to answer emails was scrapped due to the overwhelming feedback of Part 1.
- Responded to Vince's apology on Austin's Podcast. Says it's a publicity stunt, and that doesn't buy it was coincidental. Says if Vince was being sincere, he could have delivered apology in person, call, text, etc.
-Says only watching AJ matches. She'll call with the segment she is in, and he'll tune in. Wishes the CM Punk chants were directed at the crap part of the shows, and not directed to her or anyone else associated with him.
-Colt did get him to back off the Never Ever stand he made in part 1.
-More of the same of Part 1, more examples of why he grew frustrated with the office. Goes into detail with the sponsorships he mentioned in Part 1 (Wizard World, Slim Jim), talks about that WWE pushed for Sheamus to be the cover of the 2K game when he was the cover guy.
These last two episodes were my first exposure to Colt's podcast, and I think I'll keep him in the rotation with Jericho, Austin, and JR. I don't listen to them every week, but when they have a guest I want to listen to, I tune in.
Yeah, changing his stance from "I'll never go back" to "it's way too soon" sounded to me like this is something that actually can be patched up with the proper effort and restitutions. Which, let's face it, will come into play in the next two or three years.
I don't think wrestling is competing with anything on television but itself. The wrestling, the core reason that people watch WRESTLING, has been strenghtened and made important on Smackdown. The show is stable and consistant.