Monthly News Thread (April 2018)

[M.C.G. 31]

Dana White said earlier today that Brock Lesnar IS going back to UFC, and Ariel Helwani added on it today that it's not just promoter talk, there is a deal in place and now it's just about finalizing it once Lesnar's WWE commitments are wrapped up after Sunday.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

I wonder how they are getting around that suspension of his

 

[ColePens]

I honestly do not give a shit. Please go.

 

[GarbageGoal]

I wonder how they are getting around that suspension of his

He only has six months left to serve like I said the other night.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Just a friendly reminder that Lesnar has not won a UFC bout since July of 2010. Now he will have to do so under a presumably stricter drug testing schedule.

 

[Kimi]

Just a friendly reminder that Lesnar has not won a UFC bout since July of 2010. Now he will have to do so under a presumably stricter drug testing schedule.

Nah. He was tested constantly for his last fight, and still only failed the once. They can't really step it up too much from what they did.

 

[dahrougem2]

It'll be nice to not have Lesnar around anymore.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Nah. He was tested constantly for his last fight, and still only failed the once. They can't really step it up too much from what they did.

Okay, I just thought the testing protocol was different for repeat offenders? It certainly is in other organizations. Either way, I don't believe that he can pass a test and be competitive anymore. He's also 8 years older since his last win as well, which doesn't help matters.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

It'll be nice to not have Lesnar around anymore.

I thought the problem was that Lesnar wasn't around?

 

[dahrougem2]

I thought the problem was that Lesnar wasn't around?

In general.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

- Ronda Rousey had asked to be paired with Paul Heyman, but officials said no to the idea. With Rousey being a face against a couple of heels for Wrestlemania, WWE feels it would have confused fans to have a heel Heyman advocate for Rousey. WWE doesn't want Rousey to be viewed as a heel.

- Chris Jericho revealed that he texted Vince McMahon suggesting the name "The Sensational Invitational" for the women's battle royal at Wrestlemania. Vince McMahon responded with "Thx."

- WWE is trying to get The Undertaker and Chris Jericho secured for The Greatest Royal Rumble event.

- Rumours are that Jeff Jarrett may replace Daniel Bryan as Smackdown general manager.

- The reason Undertaker vs. John Cena wasn't announced beforehand was because the company feels it won't lead to additional network subscriptions at this rate. The storyline is Vince McMahon's creation and he's happy with it because of the speculation on whether Undertaker will actually appear or not.

- Batista revealed he was a contender to be Ronda Rousey's partner for Wrestlemania. WWE originally wanted The Rock, but when that wasn't going to happen, Batista was floated out there because of his successful acting career and his history with Triple H.

- Cody Rhodes doesn't see himself returning to WWE.

- Meisha Tate was surprised Ronda Rousey's real life UFC losses were brought into the story to build Wrestlemania. Meisha says she knows it still bothers Ronda but she doesn't think she had a choice in the matter at all.

 

[Engebretson]

Vince really thinks that people will think Undertaker might not appear at WrestleMania?

 

[Kimi]

Okay, I just thought the testing protocol was different for repeat offenders? It certainly is in other organizations. Either way, I don't believe that he can pass a test and be competitive anymore. He's also 8 years older since his last win as well, which doesn't help matters.

Looking up the numbers, Lesnar was tested 8 times for his UFC200 fight, and he was only in the pool for a month or so.

So while they will step up their testing as a general rule, they can't really do anything more than they already did to Lesnar.

 

[tony d]

Interesting news there. That 50 man battle royal's going to be awesome, will be fun to see who wins that.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Looking up the numbers, Lesnar was tested 8 times for his UFC200 fight, and he was only in the pool for a month or so.

So while they will step up their testing as a general rule, they can't really do anything more than they already did to Lesnar.

The reason he was tested so frequently during that time period was because UFC won a special exemption to waive him from the mandatory 4-month testing window for a (previously) retired fighter. Now he'll be randomly tested for the 6 months before his next fight. That will put him at a huge disadvantage compared to last time when the time period allowed him to quit using before he was subject to testing. Even under that lax testing window, he failed multiple times for multiple substances. USADA suspends Lesnar 1 year in doping case

 

[dahrougem2]

Lol Vince.

 

[Kimi]

I had thought it was just the one he failed for some reason, must have confused it with another test.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. He'll be getting paid a massive amount to show up for a UFC show, the result doesn't matter much.

 

[Cor]

Batista would have been better than Angle.

JJ as SD GM I like a lot, I think. Always liked him as an authority figure.

I wish Cody would come back. It still amazes me how everyone but the WWE saw the money in him. I still remember this;

 

[Bubba Thudd]

Lol Vince.

LOL at him, but he's a billionaire, and you're not...

 

[SeidoN]

Cody has to go down as one of the worst used ever when you see what hes done with BC

 

[Shoalzie]

Cody couldn't go back now with the creative control he's got with the Bucks, Kenny and Scurll. They've got to be loving life right now. Let the guys do their own creative is genius and it's showing in the ring and on YouTube. I wouldn't see those guys come to WWE until Vince is gone.

 

[ColePens]

Cody couldn't go back now with the creative control he's got with the Bucks, Kenny and Scurll. They've got to be loving life right now. Let the guys do their own creative is genius and it's showing in the ring and on YouTube. I wouldn't see those guys come to WWE until Vince is gone.

I'm sure whatever pay he's missing out on is WELL worth having creative control and a little bit of time to be with his family. I'm happy for Cody and every time I see his character, it seems even better.

 

[SeidoN]

Cody is making more money right now than he did in WWE. I believe he said 3x as much

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Cody has to go down as one of the worst used ever when you see what hes done with BC

I used to put him and Ziggler in that category, but a) at least Ziggler held the World Title even if it was for a cup of coffee, and b) it's not even close anymore. Rhodes has to be the most underused, under utilized talent WWE has EVER had that they let slip away.

So many opportunities where he could just print money. Dashing Cody Rhodes? Amazing. Disfigured Cody Rhodes? Amazing adapting and evolution of the gimmick. His singles run on Raw in 2013 that led to the return of Goldust and a tag title reign? He was SO over then, WWE completely missed out not having Cody vs. Goldust on Wrestlemania before sending Cody into the main event.

Time and time again, Cody showed his talent, mic skills, charisma and his ability to adapt, and now outside of WWE is showing his ability to draw amazing heat with this whole BC thing.

Comparatively to the other name I mentioned, his career will always end up being a "what if?" and it's not a "what if" WWE used him properly -- it's "what if" Dolph Ziggler stopped trying to be a Shawn Michaels clone and decided to forge his own path.

I'm sure whatever pay he's missing out on is WELL worth having creative control and a little bit of time to be with his family. I'm happy for Cody and every time I see his character, it seems even better.

Cody said he made 7 figures for the first time in his career last year. The Hot Topic is HUGE.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Cody is boring in almost every way. So so in the ring. There's worse used talent on the WWE roster as we speak.

Don't @ me.