All-Purpose News Thread

[JackSlater]

I'd love to be able to crap on Cena for backing down on saying that Taiwan is a country, not that I think he was trying to stand up for anything in the first place, but realistically he had no other option professionally. China throws its tantrums and it would take something bigger than Cena to not just pay lip service.

 

[Kaner9]

got accused of sending nudes to underage dudes or something. I think the WWE looked into it and were satisfied that there was nothing there but Alvarez reported that he’s had a lot of disciplinary issues unrelated to that whole saga. So that’s why he would always disappear from TV for long stretches and that’s probably why they cut bait

I dunno... it seems strange the way things went. I do wanna see where he ends up next and if hes able to do even more crazy shit

 

[GKJ]

More on Virk from today's pwinsider.com:

Adnan Virk, who debuted as the lead announcer on Monday Night Raw the day after Wrestlemania 37, is done with World Wrestling Entertainment.

The company issued the followijng statement:

WWE and Adnan Virk have mutually agreed to part ways. WWE thanks Adnan for his work.


Virk had been brought in as part of a movement to bring a more "mainstream" feel to WWE programming but was likely tossed into too deep of water early on.

There is no word who will replace him as the lead announcer of Monday Night Raw, but his predecessor, Tom Phillips, is still with the company.

They keep trying to replace Tom Phillips and I don't get it. He may not be 'good' in the sense that he's good to listen to but he's got the perfect demeanor down to do what they want their lead PXP guy to do. Keep trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist.

People aren't going to tune in to see of the announcer makes it seem mainstream unless they somehow get Joe Buck and Mike Tirico or something, not that I'd advocate for that if for some reason it happened.

 

[Megahab]

Tom Phillips is 10x better than Michael Cole ever was.

 

[Albatros]

I had no skin in the Cena game. He came around after I stopped watching current wrestling but this tells me all I need to know about him. F-off, Cena. Wallowing in the muck of avarice

Turning from alpha to beta is much more fresh and interesting than from face to heel.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Happy trails, Tom Phillips

Tom Phillips Released By WWE (ringsidenews.com)

 

[BostonBob]

The new voice of RAW is Jimmy Smith.

Here's the offical announcement from the WWE:

STAMFORD, Conn., May 26, 2021 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that Jimmy Smith will debut as the play-by-play voice for Monday Night Raw starting this Monday, May 31 at 8/7c on USA Network.

Recently, Smith served as an analyst for NXT, where he hosted NXT TakeOver pre-show panels and worked on special projects for the black and gold brand. He is also the daily host of SiriusXM's Unlocking the Cage and was the host of American Ninja Warrior on G4.

Smith will be joined at ringside for every Monday Night Raw by analysts Corey Graves and Byron Saxton.

 

[BruinDust]

Without googling it can anybody tell me who's in this recent mugshot ????

EDIT: It might help if I actually posted the freaking mugshot.

I'm gonna just go out on a limb here and say that Marcus Bagwell is no longer buff. He is no longer the stuff. And the girls, well, pretty sure they had enough.

 

[GKJ]

WWE is apparently in talks about a working arrangement with New Japan. Talk about forbidden door.

WWE-NJPW discussing partnership, no indication of current status

 

[JackSlater]

WWE is apparently in talks about a working arrangement with New Japan. Talk about forbidden door.

WWE-NJPW discussing partnership, no indication of current status

Now that is surprising if true. It makes sense, but that rarely matters.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

I'm gonna just go out on a limb here and say that Marcus Bagwell is no longer buff. He is no longer the stuff. And the girls, well, pretty sure they had enough.

Last time I heard he was a male escort

 

[BruinDust]

Last time I heard he was a male escort

I recall reading that somewhere too awhile back he was doing that for money.

 

[JackSlater]

Bagwell was on a show called Gigolos about... gigolos. The man lives his gimmick, and I for one respect that.

 

[Megahab]

Bagwell was the better version of Billy Gunn.

 

[BostonBob]

Bagwell was the better version of Billy Gunn.

Every wrestler is a better version of Billy Gunn......except maybe his punk kids.

 

[BostonBob]

WWE is apparently in talks about a working arrangement with New Japan. Talk about forbidden door.

 

[CaptainCrunch67]

Khan needs to lay off the Cocaine.

 

[CDJ]

Hardooooo

microdick energy

 

[GKJ]

I don’t understand what the point is. If it’s just him screwing around cutting promos for fun, that’s cool. But the official AEW account is tweeting it out, so they’re putting it out there, building something they can’t deliver (but I guess if there are working arrangements in the future, who knows), but doing so at risk of the companies you are actually doing or trying to do more business with. And exposing their business as well.

 

[CDJ]

Major wcw bischoff vibes

 

[Kaner9]

Mark Henry went to AEW... cool I guess? Not wrestling I hope?

 

[Megahab]

Mark Henry went to AEW... cool I guess? Not wrestling I hope?

He's commentating and I can't imagine Mark Henry being a good commentator. Big Show maybe but not Henry. Maybe I'm wrong though.

 

[GKJ]

I think the term they're using is 'analyst.'

But I think the real reason he's there is for training.

 

[Megahab]

I think the term they're using is 'analyst.'

But I think the real reason he's there is for training.

You mean to train other wrestlers? I'd say he wouldn't be good at that either but then again WWE had Billy Gunn and A-Train doing that.

 

[GKJ]

You mean to train other wrestlers? I'd say he wouldn't be good at that either but then again WWE had Billy Gunn and A-Train doing that.

Yeah, especially the big guys they have like Ogogo who don’t have experience, or Hobbs whose experience is low-level. AEW has nothing at that level, so Henry may or may not be a great option but he is their best option for it.