#Top 20 Worst Things About WWE

[hellopopculture]

Top 20 Worst Things About WWE (Part 2) Description: Pro Wrestling has been one of my favorite forms of entertainment since I was very young and but the biggest brand name in the industry has seemingly lost it’s way, here are the Top 20 things that are dragging it down, for me....

3. Lack of Star Making Ability-I already touched on this in my points about WWE competing with themselves, skipping to the finish line, creative not being creative and their handling of NXT but to put it all in perspective, you can kind of pick just any random wrestler on the roster and follow their trajectory. If they aren't already over, if they aren't already a big star; then ask yourself, "what are they doing to actually sell this superstar to me?" The answer is ALWAYS "very little".

Let's use Drew McIntyre, for example. Drew had a busy 2020, winning the Royal Rumble, Eliminating Brock, main eventing Night 2 of WrestleMania and going on a very dominant WWE Championship run. With Seth Rollins drafted to SmackDown after he turned heel, Raw needed a top babyface and Drew was it. Where this all falls apart is, WWE didn't really do any work to express to their audience what about him we are supposed to be so enamored with. A lot of fans will tell you his run was "boring". At this point they are sick of him. They filled his title reign with uninteresting feuds, some of which were with people like Dolph Ziggler who really have no credibility to give Drew a rub and have no business in a main event position. He was a babyface who won an insane amount of matches and even though ultimately, he lost his title to Bobby Lashley, they never built a legitimate rivalry for him. A hero is only as good as his villains and the face of the brand is only as good as his supporting cast.

The reason I used Drew as an example is because he's a guy at the highest level on the show. If that's how he's being booked, then imagine how they're using the guys they are still trying to get up to star status. Keith Lee hasn't been seen in months, Ricochet just shows up to eat a pin or two every once in a while, and the same for Humberto Carrillo. The tag division is pretty much dead, and The Viking Raiders have fizzled out with it. Retribution was dismantled which not only killed Mustafa Ali but the rest of the stable as well, Jaxson Ryker is in a feud with Elias nobody cares about, Damian Priest's role diminished after Bad Bunny backed away from WWE to go on tour and Riddick Moss has kind of just been an extra body on Raw since he was called up from NXT. Matt Riddle might be the only newer star to reach the main roster who is actually doing well.

They need a new strategy; they need to change directions on this. They keep trying to same things over and over and expecting different results. There is no actual planning, no method to highlighting the things about each member of the roster that the fans will find interesting or entertaining. It's like they aren't even trying to find it. A lot of people were excited for Keith Lee to come to the main roster and NOW we don't even know where he is. He could have a medical condition, he could be about to retire, who actually knows what's going on with him being off of TV, but what we do know is they were ABSOLUTELY failing with him since his debut on Raw.

2.Homegrown Bias and Nepotism-Everyone knows at this point that if you are a 2nd or 3rd generation wrestler, you already have an in with WWE. That's absolutely fine. If they want to take on Simone Johnson, Bray Wyatt, Charlotte Flair, Tamina Snuka, Nia Jax, Roman Reigns and whoever else, and they actually want to be wrestlers... that doesn't make a difference to me. The problem starts when they go about deciding that these people HAVE TO be at the heads of their divisions. That's not really how anything works. Sometimes you write Goku as the main character, but Vegeta is more popular. Sometimes Superman is your flagship character, but Batman is more interesting. Sometimes your star quarterback is boring, and your wide receiver is the face of the team. That's how sports and the entertainment world works. You have to be very skilled to manipulate people into adopting your perspective on certain characters and WWE is NOT. What's worse is, they don't LEARN either. If they push one of them and they don't get over, they do whatever they can to keep forcing their will over the audience. They very clearly favor people that were ONLY trained in the PC or in one of their developmental territories (homegrown) and superstars who carry on their famous wrestling lineage and some of them, like The Usos get over organically, but a lot of those that don't are afforded luxuries their peers don't have even if they don't make good on what WWE is investing in them.

Even worse than that, Shane McMahon is one of the most outrageously booked personalities in wrestling because he's the Chairman's son. I'm sure a lot the Superstars don't mind wrestling him despite his lack of ACTUAL training but between taking up valuable space on pay-per-views that people on the roster could use and being booked as someone that people out of his league would actually struggle to beat, i'm glad he's very rarely involved in situations where he steps into the squared circle anymore because there was a time where his portrayal was kind of burying the rest of the talent. They were really making a nearly 50 yr old civilian look like he's actually a threat.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #365

“i’m numb to the pleasure, but still feel the pain”

Are there palm trees where you live? No. Do you own any Hello Kitty stuff? If so, what? No. What’s your favorite flavor of ice pop? Blue raspberry. Do you like animal print? What’s your favorite print? Not really. I think animal "print" only really looks nice on, well, animals. Does your dad have any facial hair? Yes. What do you think of foot tattoos? They're not my favorite, but some look nice. I myself wanna get "11121" (a Silent Hill 4 reference) "carved" onto the top of my feet. Do you like bugs or do they scare you? Some do. I've gotten more into them though as my passion for tarantulas expanded to other inverts, like mantises. Ever seen the movie Chernobyl Diaries? If so, did you like it? If not, do you want to see it? I haven't, but I'd be willing to watch it. I find the whole Chernobyl incident to be extremely fascinating, so I'd probably like it. Did your senior class in high school have a class trip? Where did you go? Bitch I wish. :/ Do you have an instagram account? What’s your username? Yeah, two: brittanymphotography and eldritch_obscura. Do you like Gir from Invader Zim? I think he's cute. Do you or would you ever own a gun? Why or why not? No thanks. If I'm not mistaken, I can't legally obtain one anyway because of my suicidal history. I'm fine with having like, pepper spray and a bat handy by the bed, lol. If it was offered for free by a professional, would you get your hair dyed platinum blonde? For FREE? Fuck yeah I'd try it. What do you normally order at Dunkin Donuts? A chocolate frosted donut, and sometimes a plain/cake one. Do you watch football? Favorite teams? No. What about WWE? Favorite wrestler? That's an even bigger no. Funniest thing you’ve ever heard a teacher say? Okay so this is hard to actually explain and it be funny. I had this amazing, kinda charismatically awkward history teacher in high school, and when talking about some legal stuff I can't remember, she deadass quoted "Without Me" by Eminem ("if the FCC won't let me be...") like so casually and everyone fucking died, just from knowing her and her personality. It was just very unexpected. Do you wear a lot of makeup? What do you think of girls who do? No. Girls can wear however much makeup they please. Do you have a savings account? Are you good at saving money? No. I can't really answer the second question because of me never having a steady flow of money. Would you rather have a relationship or casual flings? Relationship, 100%. I would never have a casual fling. Do you know anyone that’s part Native American? Yes. Who was your favorite Spice Girl? I remember none of them. Have you ever tried to poison someone? Yikes, no. Have you ever saved anyone from a fire? No. Have you ever had a seizure? No. I've had sudden spasms, but never a full-on seizure. Have you ever had an out-of-body experience? No. Have you ever had a black eye? No. Have you ever had a tooth pulled? No. Have you ever had pneumonia? I have not. Have you ever had tubes put in your ears? Yes, as a baby. Have you ever been shot with an arrow or bullet? Thank god no. Have you ever had kidney stones? No. Have you even been bitten by an venomous animal? No. Have you ever thought about being in the military? Fuck no. I wouldn't qualify, anyway. Have you ever been sedated or put under anesthesia? Yeah. Have you ever used shrooms or any other hallucinogen? No. What upcoming event are you most looking forward to? I can barely believe my tat appointment is almost here lakjsd;ajwlej;rwe What was the last song you heard? I'm currently listening to Motionless In White's synthwave edit of "Voices" they just put out. I looooove it. What time did you wake up today? Maybe like, 5:20? Is there a vase in the room you’re in? No. Have you recently been insulted? Yes. Compared to someone else of your age and gender; do you feel that you have a lot to offer someone? N O P E How many days a week do you work? I'm unemployed. Is there ONE person you feel more connected to than others? Yes. What is your worst relationship quality? I obsess over the person probably leaving, so especially at the beginning, I'm paranoid and distrustful. I want to emphasize that I'm not the asshole that snoops through her partner's phone out of distrust, but still, the fear is just there. What was your most recent serious injury? A serious one? Man idk. I've had a lot or negligible and smaller ones, but a big one... *shrug* What were you most recently happy about? I was happy to see "synthwave" in this video title, haha. Are you a fan of cake? Oh yes. What is your favorite insect? Butterflies. Is your town beautiful? Ew, no. Do you prefer the city or the country? THE COUNTRY. Have you ever witnessed an eclipse? Lots of lunar eclipses. Do you wear lipstick often? No. You’re going on a date with someone you like. What would you like to do? Considering the pandemic, probably just like... grab fast food and sit and eat at a park. That'd be cute. You’re hanging out with your best friend. What would you like to do? It'd be nice to get back to Avatar: The Last Airbender while hanging out with Doris (her beardie that I adore), too. Have you ever written or considered writing a play? No. Who is considered the “black sheep” of your family? Why? Ha, me. To begin, I like all the "dark" stuff, I'm the unreligious one, the one with political beliefs unlike most of my family, I'm not doing what I should be... Why is your favorite movie your favorite movie? It's just a masterpiece. I love love love animals, African one especially, and I find it to be an amazing story of courage and dedication to family. Plus I shamelessly love all the songs, haha. What’s an odor you hate? GASOLINE. FUCK. What’s a sound you hate? Fingernails on a chalkboard. Or screech-y noises in general. If money was no issue, what would you like to do right now? I was initially gonna say go to Yellowstone, but fuck that hot weather this time of year. So, this brings us back to Venus' terrarium; I'd want to get a new one and better materials. What’s something you’re so good at that you take pride in your skill? I wouldn't say I'm "so good" at it, but I do take pride in my writing. What’s something you’d never ever dare to ask another person? Hm. Under ANY circumstance, I guess "are you pregnant?" There's almost like... no situation where I'd be comfortable asking somebody that. What’s the worst/best thing you’ve done without your parents knowing? We're not getting into that lmao. Do you know anyone who has a hearing deficit? No. What is one thing stopping you from becoming a veterinarian? I could never stand seeing so many hurt and dying animals and still be okay at the end of the day. Are there any opinions you used to have even a few years ago that you look back on and think, “I can’t believe I ever thought that way”? THERE ARE!!!!!!!!!!! A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last time you cried, what was wrong? I fell and skinned my knees when stepping over this barrier Mom made to keep the damn dog out of the hallway and thus my room to fuck with the cat and eat his food. I previously twisted my ankle, fell backwards, and had one other accident with it despite moving stuff, and I didn't cry from pain, just massive frustration. I want this dog GONE. Do you like multi-choice tests or tests you have to write out? Multiple choice. Who last called you ‘beautiful’? Couldn't tell ya, bud. Have you ever caught a firefly? Yeah, I did that lots as a kid. Do you own any camouflage? No. What’s the stinkiest pet you’ve ever had? Uhhh I dunno. Have you ever been on the news? For what? No. Have you ever seen one of your friends get arrested? No. Do you put sprinkles on anything? No, I hate sprinkles. How do you like your steak? Medium well. Long hair on guys: yes or no? Yaaaaaaaas. Is there a basement in your house? If so, what is it used for? No. When was the last time you started a new medication? It's been a while. What is your favourite type of nut? Cashews, I think. Where did you eat the best pizza you’ve ever eaten in your life? I'm so fuckin basic, like my genuine answer is Domino's lmaooo. Did you ever watch The Rugrats when you were a kid? Yeah, I loved that show. I even had the two video games; I was obsessed with the first one in particular. Do you know anyone who was adopted? Yes. Do your parents’ professions match their college degrees? No. Do you write shopping lists on paper or just remember it in your head? I don't do the shopping, so. But I would definitely need to write it down. Have you ever used a lawnmower? No. Have you ever consumed so much alcohol that you vomited? No. Can you tie balloons? No, actually. My hands are just too shaky. When was the last time you were at a pet store? A few weeks ago when we got rats for Venus. Ugh, it is SO overpriced; they come in a box of two, and as I feed her twice a month, it's honestly quite a bit of money. Like if I remember correctly, it's around $16. FOR TWO. SMALL. RATS. I've recommended we just buy them in bulk NOT from an overpriced chain pet store, but the problem with that is then we have *too* many, and the nutritional value of frozen rats apparently does degrade with time, so I don't want to feed my snake poor food. So it's just an annoying thing we have to do. Have you ever taken a pregnancy test? Not like, an at-home one. I've been tested before surgery, but that was just a safety protocol. Does your ex still think about you? "The" ex, probably not. Honestly, who is the last person to tell you that they love you? My mom. What is the last state you were in besides your own? Virginia. Would you go down to see the Titanic if given the chance? Man, that's kinda tempting. Maybe. It'd be super cool. Have you ever seen the Hollywood sign in real life? No. Did you ever see a scorpion in the wild? No, they don't live here. Do you type the proper way? Have you ever typed on a manual typewriter? Yes to both. What was your maternal grandmother’s first name? Cecelia. Name a word that people use locally that outsiders probably can’t pronounce. Conetoe. You said it wrong.

[bamxxvillexx66]

Make it right (This was requested by @jonationality)

Every night since the Garden incident with Enzo and Big Cass, Marty has been tossing and turning from a nightmare that didn't seem real at first but only got worst as the months went on. The nightmare would start off the same everytime: Marty is at the top of the ladder reaching out for the Ring Of Honor World Heavyweight championship that hung above him. Right as his finger tips graze the gold lining of the strap, Enzo and Cass are fighting everyone from both company rosters below him. Somewhere in the shuffle, Brody can be seen yelling at Marty to hurry up while there is still time left. Just like the real thing, Marty turns to look up at the belt to only to be greeted by Matt Taven punching him in his face.

In slow motion Marty falls down like Mufasa trying to reach out to the ladder and the belt but visual of both fade as he is swallowed whole by the briar patch. Voices of Tama yelling backstage about how the ROH tag belts ain't worth shit, Okada yelling at how disrespectful Americans are is being translated by a translator, Briscoes and Bully Ray asking how the hell wwe rejects was allowed into the building. As the fall almost came to an end, familiar faces showed up saying to each other in a visible whisper "How could he stay?" "He should have came with us." "His time was now and now it's never."

When Marty finally hit the ring mat from his long fall, he laid there sobbing at everything that was true. Since that event, tensions with both companies had been strained severely. Marty sent the talent bookings office text messages and even gave them phone calls about the next time he can come; he got the same soft response that wasn't rude but clearly wasn't pleasant. "Oh Marty-san we would love to have you come back but right now, but we only have room for you in the BOSJ tournament. If anything should happen to anyone or if a spot so happily opened up; we will call you asap." "You're talented and your time will come but right now your purpose is higher than this match young Martin." A voice that was angelic like rang from above as Marty woke up in a cold sweat. He ran his fingers through his semi wet hair and thought about who could that voice be.

As the new year was approaching fast, a lot of contracts signings was happening and Marty was next in line to see Mr. ROH who told Marty to show up dressing shap. As confused Marty was about this request, he wasted no time putting on his finest suit that can make anyone come out of their clothes on. A few spritz of his favorite date night cologne was definitely enough for him to seal the deal for when he was planning on negotiating the terms of his new contract. Marty looked himself over in the mirror and smiled as he can feel that today was going to be the best day for the rest of his life. "Knock 'em dead tiger." Brody said looking at his tag partner from across the room. Marty blushed at the comment and proceeded to head for Mr. ROH's office. Even though Marty had a feeling things was going to work in his favor, his nerves started up.

Two light knocked ran across the door as Mr. ROH placed a copy of Marty's new contract down on his desk. "Come in" "You wanted to see me, sir?" Marty said slowly walking into the room. Mr. ROH's face lit up as he saw Marty looking snazzy. "Sit me boy, we have lots to discuss." For 25 mins, Mr ROH read Marty all of his perks to his new contract and then slowly brought his ending statement around to the idea of Marty being the global ambassador of ROH. At first the idea scared Marty as he knew that NJPW wasn't taking any calls from anyone affiliated with ROH, but then again he was given a role of power which could make NJPW see ROH has fixed their issues. "Now all you got to do is sign the contract and you will be on the first flight out to Japan, ready to have a meeting with Mr. NJPW." "Why not, what the hell" Marty said grabbing the pen off the table and signed his government name.

The next 24 hrs for Marty was just like how Mr. ROH promised. Marty was on a flight straight to Japan. The kind words from his nightmare started to buzz around his head as he looked out the window. Hours later Marty landed in Japan and was greeted by Masa who was told about Marty's arrival by Mr. ROH. "Masa my old friend; it's good to see you" Marty said hugging Masa. "I miss you soo much Marti-chan!" Masa called a taxi and informed Marty that he will be accompanying him to the meeting as a sponsor and translator. The taxi dropped them off at the hotel and Masa lead Marty to his room that he already brought for him. "You rest up now and at 5:30 pm we will be having dinner with Mr. NJPW so you can discuss business." Masa said as he handed over the room key to Marty.

4:00 pm came and Marty was already dressed but was going over what he was going to say at dinner. His nerves was kicking in as he never personally delt with Mr. NJPW before; only Harold but he had left the company a few months ago. "So you're the new global ambassador for ROH?" Marty can hear Flip's voice echoing in his head. Flip wasn't mad at Marty as the position only seemed right for his older friend. Everyone backstage always told Marty that he was the sweetheart of the company after Bucks left. Dispite many bad management moves on ROH's part and Marty questioning his own fate, he still keep his emotions at check and treated everyone with respect. As reality came back to him, Marty tossed his cue cards and smiled at what he knew what will win the owner of NJ over.

Masa came and picked Marty up from the hotel and off they was to the local pepper pot place. The hostess lead both men to a table in the back. After 20 mins of waiting, the owner Mr. NJPW came joining the boys at the table with his translator. Masa placed the order for food and drinks. Marty couldn't take his eyes off of Mr. NJPW as this was his first time seeing him in person despite being in NJPW for so long. He looked just like the lion mark that greeted him everytime he had a match in Japan. "Masa thank you for bring Marti-chan here and I relieve you of your duties." Mr. NJ's translator said. Masa asked for a to-go order and lefted the table. Marty was confused as to why Masa was asked to leave. Mr. NJPW looked at Marty up and down and started to speak to his translator. "He said he is glad that you came back to Japan and he would like to hear your sweet singing voice. The boys talk about the elite show that Kenny-san and the young bucks had and our favorite episodes are with you singing." The translator said to Marty's suprise. "Um thank you" Marty said unsure of what's happening. The translator told Mr. NJPW what Marty's response was and a warm smile came across his face. "Eat and drink up now and we will go to karaoke after dinner."

At Karaoke Marty and Mr. NJPW was hitting it off well as both men was tipsy. The translator was recording the whole thing watching both men sing silly pop songs. Mr. NJPW knew a few english songs and was cutting loose. Marty hadn't had this much fun in Japan since BOSJ. The translator helped both men out of the karaoke bar and into a taxi. Mr. NJPW was in no shape to go home to his family and Marty's hotel room seemed viable. Both men laughed and giggled uncontrollably as a pop song played over the radio. At the hotel, all 3 men was chatting about wrestling as they walked to the room. Marty unlocked the door and all 3 headed inside. The translator laid his boss down onto the Japanese silk coved bed. "I feel like ROH feels bad about Madison Square garden and our locker room ain't same without the boys." Marty said as he took off his suit clothes. The translator recited Marty's sentence back to Mr. NJPW as he then too agreed with what Marty said. Marty took off his translucent ray ban sunglasses and sat them on the night stand. His greenish grey eyes sparkling in the dim light as he layed his big ass head on the Japanese silk coved pillows. Mr. NJPW never lost his cold lion mark gaze. "Supercard of honor would be a perfect time for the return of NJ's finest wrestlers to duke it out with ROH's." The translator relayed Marty's heartfelt plead and then Mr. NJPW looked Marty into the pits of his soul which made Marty scared as to what his answer might be. "May ROH borrow your most finest wrestlers you have?" He said batting his eye lashes. Mr NJPW responded with a simple "Yes". Both men fell asleep and the translator laid down on the floor.

By mourning time, Marty woke up to a thick contract signed by Mr. NJPW and a note that read: "Had a great time last night and I see wrestling is in your blood. Please accept this renewal of NJPW's working contract as a token of our appreciation for you coming and making up amends with us." Marty jumped up and down in celebration as his charms woo'-ed the pants off Mr. NJPW.

Days later Marty arrived to Mr. ROH's office with the contract in hand as he smiled. "So is it done?" Mr. ROH asked in anticipation. "Yes it is" Marty handing over the contract. "See this is why I picked you!!" Mr. ROH said as his eyes glittered at the big lion mark that stood proudly on the cover page. "Now I leave all future bookings of all up coming ROH shows in your hands; especially Supercard of honor." Marty's face glowed as he thanked Mr. ROH for the opportunity to help the company in a trying time of need.

As Marty left the office his phone was buzzing with text messages from Mr. NJPW's translator. "Please come back to Japan asap because the boys in the locker room can't get enough of your karaoke video and the boss will like to offer your own karaoke set when you comeback." Marty smiled at the fact someone appreciated him for his angelic singing voice.

[closetofanxiety]

Here’s a list of wrestling promotions I currently pay attention to

Why not? I’m on my lunch break and like to make lists.

Beyond Wrestling - my local, more or less. I watch their weekly “Uncharted Territory” show, which has been very good. The last two weeks haven’t felt quite as essential as the first few months, but there are still gems. It’s great to see that Drew Cordeiro can really develop detailed and immersive storylines working on a week-to-week basis. Hopefully they do a season 2 after their big show at the end of this month. 

Impact Wrestling - It’s the most TNA thing ever that the vast majority of its fans gave up on Impact just as it got consistently good. I’ve been watching ever since last year’s Slammiversary show, which for my money was the best PPV of 2018. There are still plenty of things I don’t like about Impact - they constantly go to the well with old ECW guys; most of the titles are booked in an oddly dull manner; the presence of Michael Elgin - but they get more right than they get wrong. 

Major League Wrestling - This company has zero buzz, and its roster almost feels like it’s like a Region 2 Impact or something. But I watch their weekly show for free on Fite TV, and it’s better than decent. They spotlight a lot of wrestlers who don’t get much attention elsewhere, the matches are consistently entertaining, and the commentary’s good. 

Stardom - I am currently not a subscriber to their streaming service, but I’m sure I’ll be back. It’s fairly easy to keep up via Twitter and YouTube. They’ve seemed a little directionless since Io Shirai left last summer, and they don’t really have anyone on the roster who feels like a Top Star. Tokyo Cyber Squad has been very entertaining, though. 

Sendai Girls - I subscribed to their streaming service, but they update full shows more frequently on their YouTube channel, so I guess I’m a sucker? Anyway, these shows are a wild ride. The tonal variation, from comedy to brutality, is so abrupt it occasionally takes place multiple times in the same match, but at least it’s different. They were kind of in danger of getting a late period AWA vibe in terms of reluctance to elevate younger stars, but then last month Sareee won the world title, which is great, unless she signs with WWE, as has been rumored. Mika Iwata could be a huge star as well, although she’s hurt right now. 

All Elite Wrestling - To the extent that it’s possible to closely follow a promotion that is about to have its third show ever, I closely follow AEW. I’ve really enjoyed the shows I’ve seen so far, although there are some bugs to be worked out of the system. There’s going to be another “Librarian” match happening on the pre-show this Saturday, and they’re all hur-hur-hur about it on Twitter, like YOU DON’T WANT THE LIBRARIANS? YOU’RE GETTING LIBRARIANS AND YOU’LL LIKE IT! “Vince McMahon pushing Baron Corbin, but ironically” seems like a bad move. 

Wrestling Has a Tomorrow - This is the worst name for a wrestling promotion in the history of wrestling promotions. I don’t even know if anyone outside the greater Providence area is capable of seeing their shows. Maybe they’re on Highspots? Anyway, they’re trying to be what Beyond Wrestling was a few years ago, even running shows in Beyond’s former home. For whatever reason, the same 100 people attend every WHAT show, no more and no less. I got to see a lot of Private Party matches there, in a two-thirds empty room, and now they’re going to be on national television. 

Game Changer Wrestling - GCW seems to be mostly about producing a series of spectacles rather than weaving long-term storylines, but I’m on board for it. They had the best show of Mania Week (Bloodsport), they did a high-concept backyard show on July 4, and now they’re doing a show in the guise of a super-local Southern indie promotion called WOMBAT. They’re the only company I can think of that could get away with doing a death match tournament and a comedy event featuring Teddy Hart reading a children’s book about what it’s like to be a cat. 

WWE - Yeah, yeah. I dropped my network sub, but it’s impossible to avoid knowledge of what’s happening in Vinceland, at least ambiently. I’ll put on Raw or Smackdown, pay attention for 20 minutes, and then find myself getting up and doing other things in the house while the shows are on in the background. It’s just not my thing these days, maybe that will change.

Promotions I dip into from time to time

New Japan Pro Wrestling - NXT - Northeast Wrestling - Blitzkrieg Pro Wrestling - Absolute Intense Wrestling - Black Label Pro Wrestling - Pro Wrestling Eve - Rise - Southern Underground Pro - Alpha 1 Wrestling - Ring of Honor - Over The Top - DDT - Chikara

Promotions I used to follow but for one reason or another have stopped paying attention to

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla - Progress - AAW - Shine - Shimmer - Combat Zone Wrestling - XWA (New England) - Pro Wrestling Revolver 

Promotions that no amount of trying can get me to care about

EVOLVE 

[scuzmunkie]

Love is Blind: chapter 6

A/N: Oh my sweet, amazing, darling little pumpkins!! You are all so wonderful!! I am beyond grateful for all of your reblogs, comments and likes!! Thank you for taking this crazy journey with me!! I love you all so much!! You have no idea how choked up I get when I see all the love that’s poured out on my series!! As always, lmk if there are any mistakes and if you’d like to be added to the tag list!! Now.... I give you Chapter 6!!

*Listen to Bruno Major’s Just the Same while reading. It’ll help.

Seth Rollins x Blind OFC

Warnings: Language, may cause tears....

Word Count: 2000+

Summary: Seth was Lily’s world, she was foolish enough to think that she was his. That is until he leaves her behind in pursuit of his dreams. What happens when fate throws them together again years after the heartache and tears? How can Lily see past the pain of the past when she can’t see at all?    

+++

“Wait, I don’t understand, Renee calls you in the middle of the night saying ‘He needs you’ and they expect you to just, what? Drop everything you’re doing to go coddle Seth?!” Amanda asked, beyond pissed off. Lily sat on the bed while Amanda paced back and forth in her hotel room.

All she could do was nod. She didn’t trust herself to speak. She felt the bed sink next to her. Amanda could see the inner struggle she was currently having, she pulled Lily’s head into her lap, running her fingers through her red hair. She bent down a little, kissing her temple.

“Talk to me, sweet pea.” Amanda whispered, “tell me what’s going through that precious little head of yours.”

Lily was quiet for a while, the room silent with only her iPhone quietly playing her favorite music. Something she did when her nerves were getting the best of her. A ritual that started when Seth left to help her cope with the pain.

Lily wasn’t sure how to answer that though. Truth be told she didn’t know how to feel. There was a war raging inside her right now. Part of her wanted to stick both middle fingers in the air and tell Seth to suck it but then that bleeding heart of hers wanted to pull a Kool-Aid Man and burst right through the wall and take care of him.

All of the sudden, she clenched her fists, anger coursing through her veins. Bitter tears fell from her eyes.

“What right do they have asking so much of me?!” She sobbed. “I mourned our relationship already, I-I’ve moved on. I’ve... I’ve-“ Lily felt like the room was closing in on her, she was gasping for air, was it hot in here?! She started shaking, falling to the floor.

“Lily! Oh my hell! Baby, calm down!” Amanda said, trying to pull Lily up, but her hands were pushed away as Lily crawled til she felt the corner of the room. She pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms.

With tears of her own, Amanda watched helplessly as her best friend sobbed uncontrollably in the corner. Not knowing what to do, she simply sat in front of her and waited til Lily calmed down. She sat there for 47 agonizing minutes.

“I.... I’m not strong enough.... I...” Lily was about to say something she hadn’t admitted to anyone, perhaps not even to herself. Something she tried to keep buried.

“I’m still in love with Seth.” She said sadly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t think I ever stopped loving him.”

Amanda couldn’t take it anymore, she pulled Lily into her arms and held her.

“I know, baby, I know. I’ve known you basically my whole life, I know what you’re thinking 99.9% of the time.” She mumbled against Lily’s hair. “And whatever you wanna do, I will support you all the way.”

Lily was silent for a while. Could she open herself up to him again? What was to stop him from throwing her to the wayside again? Would he even be happy to see her? How would she react once they were reunited?  As if it was some sort of sign, Bruno Major’s ‘Just the Same’  started playing.

                        ‘So do your worst to me                         Test my loyalty                         I will pass with distinction of first degree                         I lost my mind to you                        Somewhere down the line that you drew                        But I only have myself to blame                        Cause I still love you just the same’

There was one thing she knew for sure; she couldn’t do this alone.

“Will you come with me?”

“Absolutely.” Amanda answered without hesitation.

—-

Roman and Dean were watching Renee fiddle with random shit around Dean’s dressing room. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t a nervous wreck.

“Doll, you’re gonna wear holes in your heals you keep walkin’ around like that.” Dean said, pulling her into a bear hug.

“How do you expect me to be?! All she said was ‘oh’ then hung up!” She said into his shirt. They couldn’t blame her tho, this was a huge bomb they dropped on her.

“What if she doesn’t come?” Roman asked.

“We’ll need to come up with a plan B.” Dean answered. All of them froze at the sound of Renee’s phone vibrating. She quickly snatched it from her purse.

“I don’t recognize the number.” She mumbled.

“It might be her calling from a hotel or somethin’, just answer, but put it on speaker.” Dean urged.

Taking a deep breath she answered her phone.

“Hello?”

“Renee?” It was a somewhat familiar voice, but Renee couldn’t place where she had heard it before.

“Who’s askin’?” Dean butt in. There was a sigh on the other end.

“Oh for shit’s sake. It’s Amanda, Lily’s friend, remember, you called me when Seth nearly destroyed her? She doesn’t know I’m calling but I just wanted to give you a heads up. She’ll come. But, if things turn south or, heaven forbid, Seth hurts her again, we are gone!! You lose her number, you leave her life. Understand?!”

The three of them looked at each other. Seeing as she left no room for argument, they nodded to each other.

“Understood.” Renee answered.

“Look... Just, handle her delicately. She’s, she’s not the Lily you remember, she’s changed.”

Roman, who had been silent this entire time, finally spoke up.

“We’ll take care of her, rest assured we won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Good, because we’re about 20 minutes from the arena. So strap in, kiddies, shit’s about to get real.”

The line went dead. They just stood there staring at the phone, then each other. A silent prayer in the air.

“Well shit.” Dean said.

—-

“I can’t believe you bought backstage passes.” Lily grumbled, arm linked with Amanda’s, as they walked the hallways of the arena.

“Well what did you have in mind? Jump over the barriers and tackle Seth to the ground?” Amanda answered, her words dripping with sarcasm.

Lily furrowed her brows, rubbing her forehead.

“You ok baby cakes?” Amanda asked, concern evident in her voice.

“Yeah, just a lot of new scents, top that with my raging nerves and I’ve got the perfect headache.”

Things were going smoothly, but as the saying goes, it was the calm before the storm.

“Oh my gosh, you’re Amanda Palmer!”

“Can I get a picture?!”

“It’s Amanda Palmer!!”

Dozens of excited voices clouded Lily’s hearing. And everything snowballed from there. People started smothering the two girls causing them to get separated as a crowd started to gather. Lily stumbled backwards into one body after another. Clutching her cane she walked until she felt a wall. She could hear Amanda’s voice trying to be friendly to her fans but trying to politely excuse herself.

Lily was finding it impossible to breath. Out of sheer panic she just started walking trying to catch her breath. As she rounded the corner, she stumbled into something, falling to the floor. She frantically felt for her cane and glasses.

“Are you lost, little lamb?” An eerie voice said close to Lily’s ear.

She scurried backwards, hitting her head against a crate in the process.  She winced in pain, her left hand grabbing the back of her head. She then heard three more sets of footsteps joining the mystery man.  

Bray, Luke, Erik and Braun stood there staring at the shaking redhead.

“It seems this sweet dove has lost her way, brothers. What do you say we help her find her wings?”

It was then that Luke saw Lily’s cane and glasses scattered on the floor. Putting two and two together, he quickly nudged Bray, directing his attention to the items. Erik was the first to spring into action, scooping the small woman in his arms, setting her on her feet while Braun gathered her things.

“Are you ok?” Erik asked gently. Lily was so confused by their sudden change of attitude but remembered where she was. She remembered late night’s sitting with Seth as he explained WWE to her and the wrestlers with their on screen characters.... oh how she missed those nights.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt thumbs running across her cheeks, she hadn’t realized she started crying. She felt a rough hand open her palm and place her cane in it, closing her fingers around it and her glasses placed on her head.

“Thank you.” She mumbled, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. She pulled her glasses from her head and put them in her purse.

“Oh my dear, I hope we didn’t scare you too badly. We were just havin’ a little fun. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Bray, the Eater of Worlds” she felt Bray take her hand, placing a small kiss on the back of it, “and these are my brothers Luke, Erik and Braun. We are the Wyatts. And what might your name be, my lovely Lamb?”

It all registered with her! She vaguely remembered Renee’s mentioning a feud between the Wyatts and the Shield. Letting go of a breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding, she gave them a smile and opened her mouth to answer him.

“Lil-“

“Lily?!”

Lily’s head snapped towards the sound of Roman’s voice. She immediately reached her hand out in the direction of his voice. Roman took her small hands in his and pulled his little sister into his arms, holding her as tight as he could. He had missed her so much and would visit her every so often.

“Well, brothers, it seems our little lamb has found her shepherd. We’ll be on our way. Reigns.” Bray said, tipping his hat to Roman as they left him and Lily to catch up.

“I’ve missed you so much, Ro!” She said through her tears.

“Me too, baby girl, me too.” He murmured into her hair. He pushed her back a bit to get a better look at her. She had grown in those past years, her beauty blossoming more so. He hadn’t thought that was possible. Her hair was longer, her body a little more curvy but what caught his attention most were her eyes... they had lost some of their light. He felt his heart twinge a little. He kissed her forehead, trying to stop himself from scooping her up and hiding her from Seth.

Just then, Dean and Renee came around the corner but stopped at the sight in front of them. Renee dropped the papers from her hands and ran towards the hugging pair, Dean hot on her heels, wrapping her arms around Lily from behind and Dean threw his arms around the whole group. In that moment, all felt right with the world..... but, as many would attest, good things don’t always last.

—-

“Listen, kid, I love you like a son, but you’re becoming a liability. So you have two options, get your shit together and get your head back in the game or I’ll have to suspend you.” Hunter said, sitting behind his desk across from Seth. “So, what will it be?”

Steadying his breathing, Seth simply muttered that he’d do better. On the inside he was raging, wanting nothing more than to punch a hole through the wall.

Both men shook hands and Seth left the office. He walked down the halls, fuming. He was still angry that he had to disband the shield, he was mad that he lost the title, he hated that Lily wasn’t a part of his life but what pissed him off the most was that he had no one to blame but himself for her not being here. Whoever was his opponent tonight was in for a world of hurt.

‘Stop it dumbass, one more slip up and Hunter will suspend you!’ Seth berated himself.

Sitting in a vacant chair in the hallway, he laid his head in his hands, as Lily consumed his thoughts. What he wouldn’t give to have her gentle body against his, tangled in each other, to feel her soft lips, to get lost in her beautiful eyes, to feel her careful fingers on his skin, to hear her soothing voice. Why had he been such a foolish asshole?! He never should’ve given her up. Looking back now, he would’ve been happy working some lame 9 to 5 job knowing that he’d come home to her every night and wake up next to her every morning.

“You ok man?” Seth was brought out of his thoughts by Xavier Woods’ question.

“Um, yeah, just not feeling 100%.”

“Migraines again?” Woods asked while adjusting his gear. The two had grown close over their shared love for gaming. Xavier was the only person outside of Roman, Dean and Renee, who knew about his past with Lily.

Dragging his hands over his face, Seth mumbled “Something like that.”

The two began walking towards the gorilla when Seth stopped dead in his tracks. He could hear Xavier’s voice in the background asking what was wrong. Everything was a blur, time seemed to stop and speed up all at once. He was brought back to reality when Xavier shook him by the shoulders.

“Seth! What the hell man?! What’s wrong with you?!” Woods asked, his voice riddled with worry.

Silently Seth raised his arm, and with a shaky hand he pointed a finger towards a group of people, uttering a single word through trembling lips.

@haven-raven012591 @wrestlingfae @neversatisfiedgirl @lost-in-the-stories @calwitch @team-elias @hanaslay @captainwinterwriter

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (13): Fri 25th Feb 2022

Today actually was the first beautiful day of 2022..and I was at work for nearly all of it. Actually I did get to go for a nice walk on my lunch break and enjoy the sun but I'd left my headphones in the house and so couldn't signal the start of the Spring / Summer months by listening to "Here Comes The Sun" by The Beatles. The last six months have dragged like a bitch and I can't wait for the beautiful weather (Which fucking better show up this time because last summer there were about four days of sunshine). For ages now I've wanted to spend an entire Summer learning how to surf and now I'm finally going to do it whether the sun decided to turn up or not. I'm a miserable little bitch during the Autumn / Winter months and so I've decided that I'm going to make the most of the six months of sunshine I get every year. I listened to an interview with the brilliant Reece Shearsmith where he said that he actually hates the hot weather and the six months a year where he has to put up with it actually make him miserable. I can not imagine actually looking forward to having to put the heating on and lie in bed with three blankets on. If I could afford to move somewhere that was hot all year round with occasional periods of shit weather I would do it in a heartbeat. My therapist actually does hypnotherapy sessions so maybe when the hot weather is over I could ask her to try and hypnotize me into believing that the shit weather isn't that bad. Although this could go badly wrong as the effect might make me develop such an affection for the rain and snow that I might go out dancing in it like Gene Kelly and die of pneumonia. HHH has revealed he will never wrestle again due to his cardiac event from last year. I have mixed emotions because while I had no desire to ever see the guy wrestle ever again, the fact that he’s been forced to hang it up rather than give it up willingly is upsetting. The guy definitely had an ego and used his influence to keep the newer guys down (especially the ex WCW and ECW guys…but ESPECIALLY CM Punk) but you can’t deny he was a gifted storyteller and in the last 10 years has dedicated all his time to developing the future stars (shame his father in law has now undone all of the great work he did). I I started watching WWE in 2001 and only got a brief glimpse of HHH's amazing The Game persona before he got injured and then he was a face for six months after he came back (Face HHH is one of the worst characters ever by the way) but when this guy went full on heel there was no-one who could match him. Much like how Vince McMahon ran with fans hating him after Montreal, HHH took the perception the fans had of him as someone who used his love life to cheat his way to the top and ran with it. While it was kind of a dickish move to parade the fact that he would always have a top spot in the company, he did it brilliantly. Throughout his 20+ year career HHH had some amazing matches and feuds however I thing that WWE keeping HHH, Shawn Michaels, Cena and others in the main event for so long ultimately meant that nowadays there is such a gulf of main event star power in the company. At the very least Cena and Orton got put over by the older stars which helped solidify them as main eventers. However the current stars don't have many stars from previous generations to put them over and now they have to rely on top quality matches with one another to get over which they always deliver on but they definitely have a tougher uphill battle than guys like Cena or Orton did. Luckily after HHH became a part time performer and full time booker all sense of selfishness completely disappeared as he became dedicated to molding NXT and giving the younger stars a platform to shine. Before NXT developmental territories were just a place for the younger guys to practice but there was never a sense that any of the things the talents did there had any kind of meaning. That all changed with NXT though as this wasn't just a place for talents to practice their moves and develop characters like OVW or DSW were. HHH realized that you could have a developmental system that in addition to preparing the talent for Raw or Smackdown you could give them the chance to put on incredible feuds and stories. it was almost as if NXT was a platform to do great work just in case your main roster run turned out to be a dud. All the great feuds we saw from the likes of Nevile, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Ciampa and Gargano, we all have HHH to thank for that. It's a real shame that he didn't get to at least have a retirement match or ceremony but maybe he wouldn't even have wanted one. maybe he's so content with being a behind the scenes guy that he's doesn't care about accolades anymore and I'm sure we'll see him pop up for a cameo every time Raw reaches a milestone anniversary. Hell of a career. Enjoy retirement your majesty

[joshmspicer]

lets get personal.

Nabbed from @pantherdaemon​ and somehow missed last week

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most? “One Foot”, “Voicemail Freestyle Mike Wiebe”, “A Walk Down the Trail” (though it’s been a bit), “First Time”, “It Ends Tonight”, and “Survival”

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? @pantherdaemon​ It’s about time bro

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. “WWE maintained little interest in scouting, much less signing, Japanese or Mexican talent, widely considered the second and third points of the wrestling world’s triangle.”

4: What do you think about most? “So at what point...?”

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say? “Stopping for tear”

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on? I gots pants

7: What’s your strangest talent? I can curve my tongue?

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence) Girls deserve the fucking world but can go too far. Boys can be rude without knowing they are but can also be endearing.

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you? Not to my knowledge.

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar? A few moments ago when I was listening to “Undisputed”

11: Do you have any strange phobias? Not a fan of little bugs

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose? Yes

13: What’s your religion? Agnostic Lutheran

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Going to my car or walking into somewhere

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? In front

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? Breaking Benjamin, easy

17: What was the last lie you told? “I’m sick as a dog, can’t make it into class.”

18: Do you believe in karma? A form of it, yes

19: What does your URL mean? It’s my old OC from my Xiaolin Showdown days, Jack Spicer’s brother. Brought it with me during the brony days as my alias and it kind of became more than I ever though it would be.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength? Weakness is my need to please everybody. Strength is my ability to listen to everybody and offer advice even if I’ve never personally been in that situation.

21: Who is your celebrity crush? Emily Blunt

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping? Yes

23: How do you vent your anger? Either my listening to Linkin Park or venting in a text post

24: Do you have a collection of anything? Magazines, video game or animated posters, pictures, and t-shirts

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? Phone, never done the latter

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become? I’m just happy I’m not completely like my dad.

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love? I loathe that one stupid fucking bird from Iowa that always does that same rhythm all damn day. I love an animal chirping that isn’t a bird.

28: What’s your biggest “what if”? “What if you stayed in Minneapolis after Dad died?”

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Yes and yes

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm. A pen and a water bottle

31: Smell the air. What do you smell? My usual media room. I’m used to it so it smells like normalty

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to? High School Homecoming

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast? East

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? Sydney Sierota

35: To you, what is the meaning of life? Living and breathing in an attempt to survive.

36: Define Art. Creative outlet through various forms with an intent to tell a narrative, vent emotion, or for personal entertainment.

37: Do you believe in luck? Yes

38: What’s the weather like right now? Dark, clear, cold

39: What time is it? 10:47 PM mountain time

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? Yes, YES

41: What was the last book you read? How WWE Should Have Booked The Book Vol. 1

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline? Yes

43: Do you have any nicknames? Toad, Toadman, Spicer

44: What was the last film you saw? Bad Times at El Royale

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? Worst pain at the time was a broken pinky. Worst pain over time was a fucked up shoulder that any movement caused it to just drive me into agony.

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly? No

47: Do you have any obsessions right now? Probably

48: What’s your sexual orientation? Rather not put a label on that right now

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you? Yes

50: Do you believe in magic? Yes

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? Don’t forgive so easily, much harder to gain back trust

52: What is your astrological sign? Cancer

53: Do you save money or spend it? Spend

54: What’s the last thing you purchased? Technically it would be Patreon

55: Love or lust? Lust

56: In a relationship? Nope

57: How many relationships have you had? None

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Nope

59: Where were you yesterday? At home

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Yeah the envelope that came right My First Girlfriend is a Gal

61: Are you wearing socks right now? Nah

62: What’s your favourite animal? CAT

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? God I could not tell you

64: Where is your best friend? Probably at home or asleep in the Canadian wilderness of the BC

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr. I am not going to do that. Not sorry.

66: What is your heritage? A whole bunch of European countries. My dad’s side is known to be varied and my mom’s side is the same, but I’d assume mostly Germanic

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM? Reading fics in my bed

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name? Murphy

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off? Of fucking course

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend? Yes

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? Save the fucking dog. If I’m that deep in my job that one more tardiness means I’m done than it’s not worth it. Plus, I can explain to them and my future jobs why I was late. I feel like people would understand.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid? A. Yes B. If I can, travel places, see all the people I haven’t see in a while or at all, and actually finish things I haven’t ever finished. C. Of course

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love. Trust

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Fuck me for it but “"Crepuscularity” but it’s a sad kind of happy

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? Nice

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? Trust and the ability to talk to each other about anything and especially when it’s about that trust or about things that are hurting the other person

77: How can I win your heart? Show genuine interest in me and what I like.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity? Yes

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? Oh god. Um...submitting that audition for “This is Why I Clop”. I wouldn’t know any of my online friends if it wasn’t for that.

80: What size shoes do you wear? 11 1/2

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone? “RIP: This is empty because there’s no body in it, so feel free to go ham.”

82: What is your favourite word? Fuck

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. Alone

84: What is a saying you say a lot? “To be quite honest”, “everyone and their mother”, “to be fair”

85: What’s the last song you listened to? “POP/STARS”

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours? Red/orange

87: What is your current desktop picture? Still the ME 2 collage

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be? I can’t answer that

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on? What’s the one kink you hate liking?

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do? Ask if they can talk. If they can’t and are just looming, try to get back to sleep.

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? Control time

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again? Oh this is a good question. That last 30 minutes of the Jan. 2012 BronyCon where I modded the stream and heard “You Only Got One Life to Live”

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Goodbye that sexual assault in the common room

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? Always music huh? I’m gonna say Cher

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Los Angeles

96: Do you have any relatives in jail? Probably

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car? Nah

98: Ever been on a plane? Yep

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? It’s...it’s not easy anymore. And I know I make a lot of mistakes and whine a lot and am in no position to hate who I am or what I’ve done and I know that I don’t deserve everything I’ve gotten, but...it’s hard to want to live life and enjoy little things when you’ve been told that you’re great at a lot of things and end up never getting there because you didn’t put enough work in or you weren’t lucky enough to get it. And then you’ve got this great big old dream looming over you that you can escape in because it’s so much to imagine what it would be like. But you know that deep down you’ll end up back home working at Menards and ending up just like your father. Well guess what? If I’ll never be shit, duck? Than I’d least like to fucking know if I ever had a chance in the first place.

[biancas8thsea-blog]

I thought this would be nice for the people remember my old blog

1: Name

Alex

2: Age

532 this year! :D

3: 3 Fears

SPIDERS, heartbreak, and homophobia (homophobiaphobic?????)

4: 3 things I love

Water, peace of mind, and acceptance 

5: 4 turns on

I’m asexual so let me just---

I find it really cute when people talk about what they love, are open, are very active, and smile a lot

6: 4 turns off

Still asexual~

I hate liars, disrespectful people, casanovas, and cringey people

7: My best friend

They hate me, so it would be wrong to tag them

8: Sexual orientation

Panromantic and asexual :D

9: My best first date

I just love being with them, I don’t really care about much else

10: How tall am I

5′4″

11: What do I miss

The ocean

12: What time were I born

10:20 pm

13: Favorite color

Blue~

14: Do I have a crush

I HATE LOVE SO MUCH! I do and it causes me so much pain, I’m good tho! :D

15: Favorite quote

“If you’re still bleeding then you are the lucky one because most of our feelings are dead and gone.”

16: Favorite place

The beach! <3

17: Favorite food

Ramen

18: Do I use sarcasm

Do I? Nooooooooooooooooo~

19: What am I listening to right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9yjnVjgDjs&start_radio=1&list=RDH9yjnVjgDjs

Colour & Electricity 

20: First thing I notice in new person

Their eyes and scent

21: Shoe size

6 in women and 4 in men

22: Eye color

Green ring on the outside, blue inside with flecks of gray, and hazel ring around the pupil. It reminds me of the ocean

23: Hair colour

Blonde with natural highlights

24: Favorite style of clothing

Androgynous

25: Ever done a prank call?

Nah 

27: Meaning behind my URL

I formed my own sea :D

28: Favorite movie

Love, Simon

29: Favorite song

Youth by Daughter 

30: Favorite band

Yunomi

31: How I feel right now

Nothing

32: Someone I love

They hate me too, so I will not tag them either. They cause me too much pain anyways haha

33: My current relationship status

Single

34: My relationship with my parents

I don’t like talking about it

35: Favorite holiday

HALLOWEEN BIATCH

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

My ears are peirced

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

None please

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

I just wanted to one day

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

I hate them, but they are indifferent towards me. I hold grudges

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

I wish man 

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

Nope

42: When did I last hold hands?

July 29, 2018 

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

6 years

44: Have I shaved your legs in the past three days?

I shaved my legs for this post haha

45: Where am I right now?

Mon lit

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

I’ll be dead before I can drink

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

LOUD

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

It’s always a fight here, we could replace WWE

49: Am I excited for anything?

A moment of peace

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

I don’t have many real friends

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

I hate fake smiling. I start to cry instantly, I’d rather frown (does anyone get the reference?)

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

Like 2 hours ago (It’s 1:33 am now)

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

Bitch slapped

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

HELL YEAH A LOT OF THEM

55: What is something I disliked about today?

I haven’t slept yet

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

My doppelganger

57: What do I think about most?

Imperfections and heartbreak

58: What’s my strangest talent?

I can vibrate my eyes

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

Being chased

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

BEHIND

61: What was the last lie I told?

“I don’t love you”

62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Talking on the phone. I hate video chats

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Yup

64: Do I believe in magic?

Yeah

65: Do I believe in luck?

I’m lucky I haven’t jumped off the bridge

66: What’s the weather like right now?

Dark and hella hot

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

The Lightning Thief, I think. I reread it not too long ago

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

I’m iffy about it

69: Do I have any nicknames?

Alex, Bianca, Lexi, Mama, and Mika

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

Bloody eye

71: Do I spend money or save it?

Spend lmao

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?

Nah mate

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me?

HELL YEAH MAN

74: Favorite animal?

Toads, frogs, fish, cats, and foxes

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

Writing this post

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

It’s Schnoes (It means gravedigger)

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

ÑΣVΣR GΣ† U$ΣD †Ø PΣØPLΣ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqO8VgzrzHQ

78: How can you win my heart?

Get to know me and actually make an effort

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

“I’m right behind you just smiling”

80: What is my favorite word?

Galaxy and Ocean

That’s more than one

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr

Everyone from my old blog ask me in pm

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

“Get your shit together, everyone!”

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

My grandma went to jail when my mother was a child, but that’s about it

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

The power to throw up that shit and get no diseases (Water-breathing)

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

“You promise?”

86: What is my current desktop picture?

Legit the windows logo

87: Had sex?

Still asexual

88: Bought condoms?

Haha nope

89: Gotten pregnant?

Asexual noise 

90: Failed a class?

Probably would kill myself if I did

91: Kissed a boy?

Too ugly for that

92: Kissed a girl?

Yes

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

No

94: Had job?

No

95: Left the house without my wallet?

All the time

96: Bullied someone on the internet?

Is swearing at them bullying?

97: Had sex in public?

Asexual scream

98: Played on a sports team?

Yeah

99: Smoked weed?

I don’t live in California

100: Did drugs?

Hell no

101: Smoked cigarettes?

Still no

102: Drank alcohol?

Accidentally a few times

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

I wish

104: Been overweight?

Haha totally

105: Been underweight?

Never

106: Been to a wedding?

Nope

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

Probably

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

Most likely

109: Been outside my home country?

Yup

110: Gotten my heart broken?

Right now buddy. Hurts like hell, still good tho :D

111: Been to a professional sports game?

Nah

112: Broken a bone?

No

113: Cut myself?

Let’s not

114: Been to prom?

Too young

115: Been in airplane?

Yep

116: Fly by helicopter?

I don’t think so

117: What concerts have I been to?

I can’t remember

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

Right now buddy

119: Learned another language?

Not entirely 

120: Wore make up?

A few times

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

Asexual screeching 

122: Had oral sex?

Asexual pterodactyl screams

123: Dyed my hair?

Does Kool-Aid and sharpie count?

124: Voted in a presidential election?

Still a smol baby

125: Rode in an ambulance?

Nope

126: Had a surgery?

Yeah, and I was awake

127: Met someone famous?

I can’t recall

128: Stalked someone on a social network?

Haha totally 

129: Peed outside?

Not that I remember 

130: Been fishing?

I usually watch 

131: Helped with charity?

Yeah

132: Been rejected by a crush?

Hell yeah my dude

133: Broken a mirror?

Not that I can remember

134: What do I want for birthday?

An actual friend

135: One fact about you

I’m gender neutral 

If you need my new blog and you used to follow me, pm me

[junker-town]

AEW’s botched ‘explosion’ was a symptom of bigger problems

This will live in wrestling infamy for decades.

A battered, bloody Jon Moxley struggled in the ring, his hands cuffed behind his back. Air raid sirens blared as horrified announcers believed they were about to witness a man’s death. Then aid came from an unlikely source with 20 seconds remaining on a giant doomsday clock. Eddie Kingston, Moxley’s lifelong friend turned bitter enemy, rushed to the ring in an attempt to save his friend from a ring rigged with explosives and set to detonate. Knowing he couldn’t rescue Moxley in time he threw himself on top of Moxley, ready to accept his fate. The clock hit zero. This was it. Four limp fireworks that looked like sparklers sputtered from the ring posts, followed by some smoke and denotations that sounded like weak firecrackers.

The conclusion of AEW Revolution was unquestionably one of the funniest things to happen in professional wrestling history, and it was completely unintentional.

I expected bigger booms? pic.twitter.com/yApENMwoVm

— SkullsMedia.com (@SkullsMedia) March 8, 2021

There is no way this is what AEW planned for. It’s clear something went wrong with the pyro, leaving us with this weak, hilarious ending to the most hyped wrestling pay per view of the year. What was supposed to be a poignant and dramatic close to the story, one that would write Moxley off TV while he took paternity leave and set up questions about the future of Eddie Kingston instead left both men, the announce team, and everyone involved looking like fools.

AEW is trying to steer into the skid. After the show went off the air Moxley took the microphone and told the Jacksonville crowd that “Kenny Omega may be one tough son of a bitch, but he can’t make an exploding ring worth a shit.” The idea is that the AEW World Champion, who has been increasingly becoming like Wile E. Coyote in his quest to destroy Moxley, messed it all up, and the hilarious botch at the end of the show was somehow intentional. A valiant effort to turn the moment into comedy, but not enough considering the preceding show, which had incredible in-ring action got utterly overshadowed by impossible expectations AEW set and knew they couldn’t live up to.

Aside from the ludicrous “exploding barbed wire death match” main event to Revolution, the biggest selling point, the reason so many people decided to tune in, was a hugely-hyped new signing announcement we were told was a “hall of fame worthy talent,” sending expectations through the moon. Could Brock Lesnar jump ship to AEW? Would this mark the return of CM Punk to professional wrestling? Was this the moment a New Japan Pro Wrestling star would jump over to U.S. television with Kazuchika Okada, or Kota Ibushi debuting? No, it was Christian Cage.

Christian Cage HAS ARRIVED! Order #AEWRevolution now on all major providers, @brlive, and @FiteTV (international fans) pic.twitter.com/1KgXHLHtxR

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 8, 2021

Technically Christian checks all the boxes. He’s unquestionably a big name, he’s definitely “hall of fame worthy,” but the problem is the unevenness of AEW’s announcements, and their pacing. The last huge signing the company made was poaching Paul Wight (aka “The Big Show”) from WWE, casually announcing it on Twitter on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon when nobody was expecting it. When you make that kind of move quietly, the expectation is through the moon when you hype a major signing for five days before a pay per view. Expectations of Lesnar or Punk may be unrealistic, but they were warranted in contrast to how casual AEW was with Wight.

Cage arriving to almost no fanfare, then leaving without saying a word just put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Then the botched “explosion” closing the show left the whole night feeling disappointing and sad, when it shouldn’t have been.

The biggest shame is that those two moments were so awful that they overshadowed what was otherwise a pretty stellar show. The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho and MJF was a masterclass is tag team wrestling when on paper it should have been mediocre. The tag team battle royale was sloppy, but exceedingly fun — especially in the close. The title match between Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami was one of the best women’s matches AEW has put on PPV. Even the extremely hyped street fight that saw Sting return to the ring was brilliant, with swooping camera work and innovation that took the cinematic match to a new level.

Revolution won’t be remembered for any of that. The matches will fade into history and the indelible mark left by a show with so much promise will be a hilariously bad explosion that was the worst possible thing to happen at the worst possible time, an a lukewarm signing people predicted as their “worst case scenario.” There’s a lesson here that AEW has to learn about building and managing expectations. This isn’t the first time owner Tony Khan has over promised and under delivered on a big moment, and unless they do more to temper expectations it will turn people away from AEW. That’s how significant and terrible Sunday night was.

[hellopopculture]

Top 20 Worst Things About WWE (Part 7) Description: Pro Wrestling has been one of my favorite forms of entertainment since I was very young and but the biggest brand name in the industry has seemingly lost it’s way, here are the Top 20 things that are dragging it down, for me....

14. Killing the Manager/Valet & Authority Figure Positions-There was a point in WWE history where the main roster had a perfect balance between the authority personalities on the show. Raw had Paige and SmackDown had Shane McMahon. Rarely did either really get involved with the storylines, they were just there to add an extra bit of ambiance and validity to what it is that Pro Wrestling offers. They are simulating a sport. Sports have commissioners and coaches and General Managers so it only make sense that there would be similar elements in this one even if it's scripted. Apart from that, having authority figures gave the fans a sense that there was some structure and planning to the show, some actual thought went into what was happening. If there was an indiscretion or some type of disagreement between wrestlers, the General Managers could turn it into content right before our eyes.

Today we have Adam Pearce, who just kind of popped up out of nowhere and started making decisions, and HIS ASSISTANT...Sonya Deville who somehow has the same level of authority as he does.  WWE has tried to work out something between them where they have disagreements on what is fair for the Superstars but ultimately there is no consistency in their decision making so their positions end up feeling superfluous.

Back in the day you used to have managers that would take on a bunch of different superstars and through their personality and their character work they would help get those Superstars over. Yokozuna spoke English and they wouldn't even let him speak for himself because they were trying to sell fans on the gimmick of him being this big time Sumo star from Japan. In this era, people like Shinsuke Nakamura & Asuka who don't have a good handle on their English are forced to cut their own promos. You would think during the pandemic, with no fans in the arena they would just have them speak Japanese and then translate but instead they just cut broken English promos to awkward reactions from the Thunderdome and when there were crowds it was even worse because they would just chant "WHAT?" in between every sentence and make it even harder for those superstars to get through their promos.

Managers like Zelina Vega & Lana may want to be wrestlers but they don't really fit on the roster in that capacity and more importantly there are a lot of people on the roster who would actually be better suited trying to get someone else over, in a managerial position instead of wrestling. WWE has the most talented roster of in-ring performers they've ever had so if you can't go, they don't really have much use for you as a superstar, but why can't these people be mouthpieces or there to add something to someone else's presentation?

13. NXT/The Performance Center-WWE recruiting for NXT is one of the biggest reasons for the collapse of the independent scene boom period. They threw money at anyone with name recognition outside of the company to keep their C-Brand running. The problem with that is they took a lot of these people who were free to work their own characters and get over the best way they knew how and then they use them at about 40% of their actual potential and talent level. NXT isn't producing the stars. A lot of people on their rosters have years of experience in the business. There are very rare cases of them building someone from scratch or taking someone on from another company and giving them the proper tools to succeed at a higher level.

A lot of fans hold NXT in high regard as WWE's best brand but when they finally got on TV and actually had to prove it, the numbers reflect that a lot of their fanbase doesn't even watch it. Fans don't know who these people are that are considered the faces of the show. The distant #2 company with very few stars and no skin in the game beat them in the ratings up to the point where they were moved to a different time slot and now their ratings are even worse with no competition from another wrestling promotion in that same time slot.

What seems to be going on here is this: NXT was sold to us as a developmental brand. It was there so that new talent could earn their stripes and get some experience working a taped production. The performance center has some great trainers but losing a guy like Dusty Rhodes appears to have been a major blow to their creative process and developing characters that will work on the main roster. Vince pretty much ignores the brand while also using it as a talent farm to pull from, but there is no collaboration between the Chairman and the people who are supposed to be getting talent ready for the big stage. They are on two different pages.

Today NXT doesn't really have an identity. They've somehow convinced a section of their viewers that it's a 3rd main roster brand which it is clearly not as everything that is done there is completely isolated from the other two main roster shows (Raw & SmackDown). More importantly, that's where all of their developmental talent coming out of the PC gets their start. Nothing really changed about the brand's function since it got on television. They have had main roster stars like Ember Moon, Charlotte Flair & Finn Balor return but the ratings really haven't improved and there is actually no business plan for doing that. NXT is just a place for wrestlers to be. There's no progress being made with any of them at this point. The same brand that produced Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, and many more couldn't hope to build a star of that caliber in 2021.

12. International Presence-WWE would like to exist in all of these other markets and the ones that nobody has really conquered is really theirs for the taking, but because they refuse to reserve the time to actually learn anyone's culture or understand their customs or what gets people over in the eyes of their fanbase in those countries, often times they don't end up making that big of a splash outside of the United States & The UK. Japan, India & Mexico seem especially important to them at this point but judging by how they treat the talent from those places, I can't imagine they are making much progress. According to Konnan, they don't do very well in Mexico and I know they've been trying to have some sort of partnership or working agreement with New Japan Pro Wrestling but it hasn't gone anywhere. It's been reported they have been trying to get NXT Japan off the ground the way they have in the UK but I doubt they actually have the talent to run with.

They once made Jinder Mahal the WWE Champion, thinking that if they shoved an Indian guy in everyone's face that the Indian people would take to him the way they did with Great Khali, but they did not. That's probably because they not only booked him as a goof who couldn't win a match without cheating but he was also a jobber and kind of a joke character in his WWE career beforehand, they never treated him as if he was anything special but then suddenly wanted him to be propelled to the top by winning a title that has lost it's prestige at this point.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 11/16 NXT 11/18 NXT UK 11/19 Smackdown 11/20 Survivor Series 11/22

Raw:

Appreciate Lana providing logic to the creation of this match.

“Is this a Disney movie” lmao.

Honestly Shayna works better as a henchman than as a final boss.

Love Lana’s theme btw.

rip Mandy.

Ugly kick by Asuka. Not a compliment.

hahaha Lana tagged herself into the match while Shayna had Asuka in the clutch. hahahahah.

“You suck, get out” rofl.

Asuka you’re trash for not saving Lana. Truly.

“I’m actually really proud of you, you showed a lot of courage tonight.” Nia is funny. A bitch and a bully, sure, but funny.

There’s number 9. rip.

First of all, Dana’s shaky interview was going really well, and I wish they had let her finish it cuz god knows she needs the practice.

Second, WHY IS MIA YIM ATTACKING DANA OF ALL PEOPLE?

I’m not sorry, I shamelessly love Bray and Alexa together, goodbye.

“Your word is... jackass” lmaooo why is he even doing a spelling bee to prep for this match.

rip Rambling Rabbit for the 38th time.

What makes him being killed so damn demented is not only the way he exhibits agony and suffering as he dies, but the way they STAND BY LAUGHING UNCONTROLLABLY. This is the definition of sociopathy.

“Bullseye!” “More like... Rabbit’s heart!” *continues laughing hysterically* jfc.

Really love how Alexa puts her hand beneath her chin and then waves. That goes along with her characteristics developed since the fairy gimmick in nxt back in 2014/2015, to the cosplaying mean girl in 2016/2017/2018, to the babyface in 2019/2020. Also adds another layer with her gloves. Love that.

Nikki’s wandering around looking for Alexa, when clearly she should be looking for the Firefly Funhouse. I suggest asking Seth or Randy.

“Friends never give up on each other,” they also don’t give each other ultimatums cuz that’s toxic af, but okay.

She keeps running her mouth about Fiend and I can already see Alexa demolishing her for it.

LOVE the cohesion in going from one segment to the other as Sarah runs around looking for an interview. Fitting since that’s obviously her job, but it went together smoothly. They really come off as tmz lol.

I appreciate how Miz doesn’t want to fuck with Bray cuz he knows Bray will just torment his family lol. I also appreciate his reasoning because he’s a true opportunist. he doesn’t want to exhaust himself with this match cuz he might cash in later.

Love Alexa’s remixed theme, it’s jarring af. Walking red flag btw.

Oh nooo Nikki what are you doinggg.

I’m not a fan of how Nikki sold this interaction. Didn’t feel natural at all.

OH SHIT the sound of that slap, oof.

Oh my god I love how Bray came out and glared at Nikki. FANTASTIC. Absolute gold. Then he just smiles at Alexa as she takes his arm to escort him to the ring.

And the way the camera focuses back on Miz and Morrison... Miz’s face... I can’t, this is tremendous tbh. What a great story to run throughout this week’s Raw.

lmfao the way Alexa stuck her head between the ropes to scare Morrison. Ugh this pairing is easily my favorite thing in wwe rn.

Interesting, so Bray protects her. A fair duo.

I will never not cringe at watching people pretend to break someone’s neck by twisting it to the side. If I was a wrestler, that’s a move I would NEVER allow to be done to me.

On the plus side, Alexa took out Morrison and he sold it really fucking well. On the negative, it seems that distracted Bray as he’s more concerned for her well being now.

Oh my god the way Alexa reappears from behind the barricade. Creepy as shit.

Love watching her “balance” on the barricade considering she was one hell of a gymnast in her day.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for watching Lacey progress in the ring, cuz I think her character work is just fantastic, but holy shit what a downgrade going from Mandy and Dana to Lacey and Peyton.

Why is she excited? Why is it exciting to fight Sasha? Maybe Asuka should’ve taken that match a bit more seriously, considering the outcome. But I’m jumping ahead of myself.

“No one is ready for Asuka,” except for Charlotte, Becky, Shayna, Alexa, Sasha...

I do appreciate how Lacey isn’t scared of anyone while Peyton is wary of literally everyone. That’s good. Nia has a point though, y’all could’ve used Mandy. I guess it doesn’t matter though, considering the outcome. Jumping ahead of myself again.

“Worst idea since Quibi” lmao shots fired.

*Bonus* Peyton/Lacey online exclusive: they vibe real well off script. Peyton made points saying she can’t wait to teach Lacey how to be on a team. That’s valid cuz Lacey is NOT much of a team player. Points to Lacey though, she’s funny as hell.

Highlight: Alexa Bliss

---

NXT:

Awesome hearing War Pigs during that Shotzi promo. Is that the official theme song for War Games? If so, baller to wwe for shelling that cash out.

I’m guessing Shotzi was fixing her tank? Was that the premise? Regardless, the setting was different and interesting.

I really like the fencing around nxt’s ringside. Fits with the grungy “indie” feel.

God I’m gonna have to watch Candice defeat Kayden and Kacy aren’t I?

Indi bought the Garganos a flat screen tv? :/ mk. What does she have to gain? Johnny was an AWFUL champion and Candice has never even held gold. What is she hoping to accomplish?

“Indi is gaining one of the best mentors in the nxt locker room” lmao WHAT.

omg Kacy and Kayden are so fucking entertaining, I feel like I say this every time I watch them. All tag teams need to TAKE. NOTES. Look at that cohesion and teamwork. Whew.

Hold on don’t try to retcon Tegan as leaving Candice’s side. I hate Tegan even more than I hate Candice, and she was a shite friend to Dakota by proxy of being a spineless dweeb, but do not try to paint Candice as the victim in her feud with Tegan.

I know nothing about the Dakota/Candice friendship but I’d go ahead and blame Dakota since she’s hella douchey lmao.

Imagine thinking Indi is an upgrade from Dakota. Commentary is super funny and distracting tonight lmao.

Was that not a flatliner? Sure looked like an intended flatliner.

So Kacy attempts to kill herself in the process of taking out Indi and none of the cameras caught it? :/ we still using interns looking for college credits in production? Is that what’s happening??

Vic is kind of an awful commentator in his actual calls. “Nice suplex, almost a brainbuster” better hope that was a brainbuster cuz if not, that was the saddest fucking suplex I’ve ever seen in my life.

So Kacy almost kills herself using offense against Indi and Indi was coherent first? Ugh anyway.

Why do we have to listen to Ember speak every week? What a terrible idea.

So now she’s gonna be nxt’s savior by getting rid of Dakota and Raquel? Oh for fuck’s sake.

Why does she have fucking soda tabs on her gear still.

Why is she teaming with Toni. I THOUGHT THEY WERE HEELS. Seriously, am I the dumb one? Am I the one who needs their hand held? Has Ember not been acting like a heel since she returned? Am I the only one confused about Toni’s alignment??

“We’ve fallen victim to the numbers game” WHEN have you fallen victim to the numbers game, Toni? WHO WROTE THIS.

I know nxt wants me to give a shit about Ember and Toni, but good luck making me care about anyone down there more than Dakota or Rhea.

I would really appreciate it if Dakota was moved up to the MR without actually showing any dissention from Raquel.

Dakota calls a lot of matches, I’ve noticed. Pro shit.

Toni’s German suplexes are amazing if she’s actually never hurt anyone, cuz MAN they look gnarly af.

Gorgeous tornado ddt by Ember. Nice speed, great handling by Raquel.

Don’t Dakota and Toni have quite the history? From UK?

Today in wrestling commentary: Vic cannot tell the difference between left and right.

Whoa I just noticed Dakota isn’t wearing her knee brace. That’s kind of monumental, right? Isn’t that a big deal? I feel like that’s a big deal.

Honestly I might like Toni more than Ember. She comes off as a lot more likable since her move to nxt.

Oh Christ I gotta see Candice again. 

Hi why isn’t this main eventing? Do Rhea fucking Ripley and Io fucking Shirai not deserve it?? For real???

Hate it when refs hold the title up crooked. Noob.

Holy shit Io’s speed is TOP. TIER. Whew.

And then slips on the turnbuckle, sad. Could’ve been worse, could’ve been a Shotzi wipeout (and that’s what I’m gonna call it from now on)

What Io has in speed, Rhea has in strength, these are the facts.

Why did Vic cut Beth off by saying exactly what she was in the middle of saying? Vic’s losing a lot of points tonight tbh.

oof gnarly German suplex off the second rope by Io.

Oh my, Rhea’s ear is covered in blood. Must have punctured her ear with an earring. Rough. I say this as someone who has her fair share of piercings: it BOGGLES MY MIND why any of these women wrestle with their piercings in lmao. No ma’am.

Brutal match, whew.

Rhea wiped her own blood on her face.

There are some aprons spots with Rhea obviously waiting around that needed some work.

Rhea can sell, certainly, but her screaming is way too dramatic at times. Most notably at wm in the empty arena, but this match is a close second. Almost borders on annoying.

Niiice Rhea adding a nice vortex spin on the tail end of her cloverleaf submission. Points. Keep that.

Oh that Riptide attempt countered into an armbar by Io. BEAUTIFUL.

I liked that. Io goes for the 619 in the middle rope, Rhea ducks. Io goes for the 619 on the lower rope, Rhea dodges. Io strikes her a couple times, Rhea falls to the opposite side of the ring and Io proceeds to hit the 619. Good stuff.

Lol Io’s smiling at Rhea kicking out of the missile dropkick.

Nice flip off of Rhea’s clothesline but I’m not a fan of Io landing her moonsault on her feet. That’s not really her M.O.

Fucking spiked Rhea with a ddt by countering the Riptide again. That’s a solid champion, has her opponent completely scouted.

Beautiful sunset flip powerbomb through the ropes with Rhea landing through a table. Would’ve been cool if Rhea had let go right away, though.

In kf, I give points to Rhea for dragging herself from the rubble just to eat a clean pin. Great match.

Highlight: Io vs Rhea

---

NXT UK:

Wow robbing me of KLR’s entrance. Guess Piper is officially the heel.

Quit calling her a “new” Piper Niven. A slight aggression is hardly “new”

BE CAREFUL WITH KLR’S SNAZZY COAT.

Y’all got tape out? Have we learned nothing from Bayley/Sasha hiac?

CHUCKED A FUCKING RING BELL INTO PIPER’S HEAD LMAO

Ugh headbutt that takes everyone out. Tsk.

Ric who? Charlotte’s dad??

Who do I gotta pay to see KLR vs Becky Lynch in an extreme match?!

KLR rolls away after that fisherman buster on the outside. Smart points.

Alright listen I’m on KLR’s side but WHY IS JINNY OUT HERE

Lol smacked Piper with a ‘no entry’ sign. Haha.

And Piper broke a sign over KLR’s head, followed by puns from the commentators.

rip random guitar.

Match doesn’t have any creative spots really, but they sure know how to utilize random objects.

BRO YOU CAN’T TAKE A STEEL PIPE TO HER KNEE ON CONCRETE, THAT’S HELLA RUDE. KLR lit a fire under Piper’s ass and Piper’s trying to retire her as thanks. Super, super rude.

Fuck her up fam, I don’t even feel bad.

??? Did KLR even land through the table or did she just land straight onto the fucking concrete? Jesus Christ man. No, she didn’t, she slid into the second table and just ate the floor. Oh my god. IS SHE OKAY??

Highlight: That vicious ending gained KLR a lot of respect in my eyes

---

Smackdown:

Imagine being surprised that Adam chose the longest reigning SD women’s champion as his team captain. Granted she’s probably despised by everyone, but she’s got the pedigree, come on now.

Look how good Bayley looks. Whew.

“You know what time it is? Bayley time.” she’s so annoying rofl.

Wow riveting stuff, I have zero comments about this 2 min match tbh.

Go stand in the ring with your damn captain, Bianca.

Lmao Bayley allergic to hugs now. Character progression.

It’s quite the team I’m ngl. I just wish we could’ve wrapped up this Sasha/Bayley shit like... months ago so we could enjoy captain Bayley for a bit longer. Gonna burn through this in one damn episode. It’s a bummer.

*Bonus* Nattie’s online exclusive: “I sailed through some rough waters [...] I’m smart, I’m sexy, I’m funny, I’m rich” She is funny, I will give her that.

We’re getting Asuka/Sasha face to face? For real? Okay.

Cute, Sasha’s smile toward Asuka actually looked genuine. I miss when Sasha seemed genuine. It’s like Bayley killed that part of her.

“Michael are you forgetting what time it is?” BAYLEY TI-- “It is boss time, baby!” welp my mistake.

I’ve played Asuka’s dialogue to Sasha 3x and I still have no idea what she was saying because of her ridiculous fucking dancing and animation. I’m tired. Bayley come take her title.

Omg now she’s doing “you can’t see me” SHE ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING I absolutely despise her being champion.

Actually she is ready for Asuka, and I’m gonna take great joy in watching her win this Sunday. Sasha is hella unlikeable until the moment that bell rings, then she’s a god. Is what it is.

Booo Sasha was actually doing good on the mic, how dare you ruin that, Carmella.

Asuka is awful. Even Becky and Ronda fought off common enemies once upon a time. Asuka helps legit N O B O D Y. Awful champion.

Highlight: Captain Bayley

---

Survivor Series:

Love Sasha’s gear.

Asuka kicked out at one, quick everyone cry about her selling. Oh wait she’s not Charlotte, my bad.

Beautiful attempt at an armbar by Sasha, whew.

Sasha is so good at this whole wrestling thing lol.

Nice pop up from that backstabber.

Right and in contrast, Asuka is an amazing striker.

Oh a codebreaker to Sasha as she dangles from the second rope. Gorgeous move.

Ahhhh the blue haired god got the job done. I knew she’d win but it’s so gratifying to see.

Not much to say about the match. The spots weren’t brutal or super creative/innovative, but it had GREAT back and forth and really showcased their chemistry in technical wrestling. Also might very well have been the best match they’ve had yet, seemed pretty short though. Still, an enjoyable watch. Good for Sasha.

Lol the disdain in Nia’s face as she looks at Lana.

Look, Bayley’s arm band says ‘captain’ so she’s the captain.

Love seeing how creative people get with their gear at Survivor Series, as opposed to just throwing a damn brand shirt on. Looking at you, 2016.

One thing I’ve learned about Bayley is if she calls you sister, she genuinely likes you behind the scenes. So glad to see Lacey is in her good graces.

Omg Lacey learned how to do a kip up, everybody clap.

Love how the light shines off of Nattie’s gear. Got rainbows popping.

Squatting while stalling a suplex, and synchronized kip ups. Bianca and Nattie are fun.

“Bayley and the great Becky Lynch,” Oh shit, peep that RESPECT we’re putting on her name now? She gets ‘the great’?? wwe finally seeing her on the same level as ‘the great’ Charlotte Flair??? I am shook. Good for her, fucking deserved (also poor Bayley rofl)

Lana tags herself in again lmao. Nia 5 seconds from killing her. Look, Lana tries. Let her try.

I can’t breathe. she been put in timeout.

(referring to a move by Peyton) “I give that a perfect 10“ PPPFFFFTTTT

What a bump by Bayley; a suplex off the top rope onto the entire roster on the outside, and what a great locker room leader to be checking on everyone IMMEDIATELY as if she didn’t just fucking take a massive bump. Also poor Lana standing over there watching the fun lol.

Now I already knew Peyton pinned Bayley cuz of the outrage by Bayley fans who deemed her “buried” afterward, but I think it was a poor decision to have Peyton get that pin. Peyton sucks, not sorry. Have Lacey get that pin before Peyton. Actually, have Lana get that pin before Peyton.

Not sure what Nattie was going for with that submission to Peyton, but she improvised real quick. So points.

Doesn’t Nattie usually wear wrist guards? Awkward seeing her without them.

Goes for a sharpshooter on a woman who’s not even active rn. I’m removing her points lmao.

I legit never get to see Bianca’s 450 splash and you know what? Fuck y’all.

Well Bianca’s a great partner to do a Spanish Fly with so, good on Lacey.

That’s an interesting elimination. Ruby would’ve pinned Shayna as she had rolled back and reversed the Clutch, but the ref was distracted by Nia. By the time he started counting, Ruby had passed out. Interesting.

Crucifix Bomb by Liv eliminates Lacey, fucking dope.

Having Bianca as the last survivor on her team is great for Bianca. This is a compliment from management.

BEAUTIFUL catch by Shayna into the Clutch. Wow that was nice.

Ah we redoing the spot from their Takeover match, IE my introduction to Bianca. Solid.

Oh this is good. Bianca passed out from the Clutch while on the ropes so Shayna was disqualified. Nia drug Bianca out of the ring to put her through the announce table and they started brawling until they were both counted out. 

Again, I knew Lana was the sole survivor but seeing it happen is fucking hilarious. Nice protection for Bianca though, and seeing Nia this pissed off is so cathartic.

Highlight: Bianca was the real standout imo

---

*Survivor Series shined the brightest as we had both a great technical match, and a fun, entertaining multiwoman match filled with shenanigans. If that’s a cop out, then I’ll give it to NXT this week. 

[tabloidtoc]

OK, October 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Meg Ryan’s new life revealed 

Page 1: Big Pic -- Katie Holmes and Emilio Vitolo Jr. holding hands and wearing masks in NYC 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Halle Berry happiness at last -- after years of heartbreak Halle has finally found true love with Van Hunt

Page 6: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s private world -- they’ve got successful careers and a solid marriage but the thing they’re most proud of is the beautiful life they’ve built together and family is everything to them 

Page 7: Jessica Simpson swore off reality TV after her show Newlyweds led to her split from ex-husband Nick Lachey in 2005 but she finds she misses working in front of the camera and after multiple offers to do a reality show with husband Eric Johnson and kids Maxwell and Ace and Birdie including one from Ryan Seacrest she’s seriously considering it except Eric thinks it’s the worst idea, Taylor Swift is itching to get her girl gang back together after taking a break from throwing A-list bashes and while she has been loving life in Nashville with fiance Joe Alwyn she feels like she’s neglected other important people in her life and to make amends she’s already making plans to gather girl squad members Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively and Martha Hunt and Katy Perry at her Rhode Island beachfront mansion, Madonna is ready to spill all and her exes better watch out because she is gearing up to direct a movie which she’s cowriting based on her storied life including her romances with Warren Beatty and ex-husbands Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie and baby daddy Carlos Leon who are all reportedly unnerved by the project and she’s getting a savage pleasure knowing her famous exes are nervous 

Page 8: Nikki and Brie Bella were known for their sculpted physiques in the WWE ring and since welcoming baby boys this summer they’re eager to get back into fighting shape by doing Zoom workouts together including Pilates and yoga and giving each other daily pep talks, Kourtney Kardashian has a new crush and has been hanging non-stop with 19-year-old TikTok sensation Addison Rae because she finds Addison incredibly refreshing and fun but Kourt’s obsession with Addison who is 22 years her junior has been raising eyebrows -- Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian are trying to be cool about it but they find it a little creepy how Kourt hangs on this girl’s every word, Lori Loughlin was sentenced to two months in federal prison for paying bribes to get her two daughters into college and she wants a seriously cushy stay behind bars because she figures that with her fame level and wealth and influence there’s no reason why she can’t have many of the perks she’s used to including an air-conditioned cell and cable TV and gourmet food and yoga and Pilates classes and even her own private security guard but especially time off for good behavior 

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars look dreamy in Oscar de la Renta -- Evan Rachel Wood, Kiki Layne, Scarlett Johansson 

Page 11: Regina King, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Daisy Ridley 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Rachel Zoe vs. Molly Sims, Jamie Chung vs. Skyler Samuels

Page 13: Cara Santana vs. Kristen Taekman 

Page 14: News in Photos -- Johnny Depp looked relaxed and happy at the 68th San Sebastian International Film Festival for his new documentary Crock of Gold 

Page 16: The cast of Schitt’s Creek Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara and Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy, Olivia Culpo was joined by her dog Oliver during a day of shopping in West Hollywood, Miley Cyrus closing out the iHeartRadio Music Festival 

Page 17: Jessie James Decker running errands in Nashville, John Leguizamo playing chess in Washington Square Park, Eva Longoria urged Latinos to get out and vote at a campaign event for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 

Page 18: Kaley Cuoco filming a scene for her show The Flight Attendant, Ian Somerhalder kissed the grass at the premiere of his new documentary Kiss the Ground 

Page 20: Drew Barrymore lit up the Empire State Building yellow to celebrate the premiere of her daytime talk show, Olivia Wilde and fiance Jason Sudeikis play soccer at the beach in Malibu 

Page 21: Tiger Woods ahead of the U.S. Open

Page 22: David Harbor grabbed a bite to eat solo in New York City, Jesse Metcalfe on his motorcycle, Paris Jackson showed support for longtime family friend Paris Hilton during a screening of her documentary

Page 23: Hailey Bieber on a pool floatie, Josephine Skriver filming a Maybelline commercial in New York City 

Page 24: Janelle Monae at the premiere of her new film Antebellum, John Legend made a grocery run in Los Angeles 

Page 25: Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and former football pro Troy Polamalu shoot a Head & Shoulders commercial, Duchess Kate Middleton and Prince William made their first joint engagement after their summer break visiting a job center, Jennifer Garner picked up a bouquet of flowers while out and about in L.A. 

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Mariah Carey spent lockdown in a luxury estate in Bedford Corners, N.Y. 

Page 28: Drew Barrymore swore off men after her third divorce in 2016 but she’s had a change of heart because she’s been talking to Tom Cruise a lot during lockdown and now they’re on the verge of a full-blown romance

Page 30: It’s been a little over a month since Scott Disick and Sofia Richie pulled the plug on their romance but the pair are still hooking up on the DL which suits them both because Sofia is still attracted to Scott but she wanted freedom to date other people and the two of them have this warped attraction that they can’t find elsewhere, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have spent 37 blissful years together but after six months of quarantining together they’ve hit a serious rough patch bickering nonstop since lockdown started because they’re both independent spirits and being cooped up together day in and day out is just too close for comfort, Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse are planning to tie the knot in a top-secret wedding this winter in the U.K. -- they want to have a small ceremony in London around Christmas with just family and a few close friends to toast with -- the two feel they are soulmates and feel it’s time to get married and settle down and maybe even start a family in the next couple of years 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Meg Ryan back and better than ever -- after taking a breather from Hollywood the new and improved actress is ready for her big comeback 

Page 36: Priscilla Presley putting family first -- how she is helping her daughter Lisa Marie Presley and grandchildren pick up the pieces after a tragic loss 

Page 38: Coming Clean -- stars open up about living booze-free -- Lucy Hale, Joe Manganiello, Bradley Cooper 

Page 39: Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, Jada Pinkett Smith, Daniel Radcliffe 

Page 40: Interview -- Keith Urban digs deep -- the country crooner talks about his eclectic new album and life at home with his favorite girls 

Page 42: Olivia Munn 40 and fabulous -- how the stunning star stays in such great shape 

Page 46: Style Week -- Kate Hudson is adding Inbloom a plant-based powdered supplement brand to her growing empire 

Page 48: What’s Hot Right Now -- makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury’s new Walk of No Shame collection offers five new universally flattering ways to get a glow up -- Miranda Kerr 

Page 49: Steal Her Style -- Cate Blanchett reigned supreme at the Venice Film Festival -- here’s how to wear her look for less 

Page 50: Getting Organized 101 -- freshen up your space for fall with the Home Edit founders and Netflix stars Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer sharing their top tips for how to conquer clutter 

Page 52: Beauty -- Scent-sational -- time to add one of these new fragrances to your vanity 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A with Troy 

Page 58: Buzz -- Crikey, it’s a girl! Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell share their baby joy in a zoo-themed gender reveal 

Page 60: Sound Bites --Chrissy Metz on getting ready to release her debut album at age 40, Ryan Reynolds on getting tested for COVID-19, Keke Palmer on staying true to herself, Carrie Underwood on forgetting to thank her family during an ACM Awards acceptance speech, Chrishell Stause on getting bad pick-up lines in her Instagram DMs 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Libra Kate Winslet turned 45 on October 5 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Machine Gun Kelly

[beautyindisguise00]

Are you one of those people that LOVE to hug others?

Thursday October 1 2020 @2:53pm

1. When was the last time someone saw you naked? last weekend. my boyfriend

2. If you could bring someone back from the dead and spend an hour with them, who would it be and what would you do/say? my grandma. i’d ask her how she felt about how things are going with the big three family now

3. What is the greatest loss you’ve endured? my grandma

4. How would you describe your current mood? calm and relaxed

5. When was the last time you did something you were embarrassed by? crying myself to sleep last night. ugh, im so sensitive sometimes.

6. What was the last thing you lied about? i dont remember. haha

7. Where is your favorite place to have sex? still have my v-card,but the bed. haha

8. What is your earliest memory? getting lost at a sports tournament. haha

9. Do you ever drink or get high alone? i drink by myself, but not to get drunk

10. What type of a drunk are you? very chatty and giddy

11. What song (or a few songs, whatever) means a lot to you and why? there’s a lot.

12. When was the last time you revealed your feelings for someone? Were they accepted or rejected? last weekend to a guy friend, Luke last weekend to my boyfriend a few weeks ago to my best friend, Angela all where of different feelings, but thankfully they were all very accepting

13. What was the reason behind your last visit to the hospital? visiting a friend who was in a motorcycle accident

14. How do you tend to deal with a breakup? i haven’t been through a bad breakup and i hope i wont ever, but if i ever do. i’d probably cry myself to sleep each night and go through the motions through the day. i’d stay off social media until i’m ready to show my ex what he’s lost

15. What is the “worst” drug you’ve done? Are there any you will never try, or any you want to try? i’ve never done drugs

16. What is something you’ve done that you truly regret? forgetting to log out of my facebook messenger on my mom’s phone....

17. What does it mean to you to be a good person? Do you feel you are a good person? someone’s who’s kind. goes out of their way to help others. and many more. i can be a good person, but im not always

18. What is your philosophy on life/how do you generally choose to live or conduct yourself? enjoy life. be kind to others. bring glory to God

19. Do you view animals as being just as important as people? Why or why not? animals should be treated with care and kindness. 

20. When was the last time you were up all night and why? my boyfriend and i were out with his family

21. What is the worst thing you’ve done to yourself? What is the worst thing someone else has done to you? not love myself like i should be. form options about me without getting to know me

22. What is the most personal thing you’re willing to reveal? depends on who you are

23. What made you stop talking to the last person you cut out of your life? we just grew apart. neither one of us put effort in the friendship anymore

24. Is there a situation or person you haven’t been able to get over/forgive? not anymore, i’ve learned and moved on

25. Who was the last person to yell at you? Did you yell back? i havent been yelled at in a while.

26. Where did your last injury come from? no major injuries lately. the last one i can recall was when one of my kiddos rammed into my toes and my toe nail chipped off

27. What are some kinks or turn-ons you have, if any? uhhhh, neck kisses, dirty talk, nip play. hahahaha

28. What are you like during arguments? stubborn. haha. and i try to be right all the time. 

29. What is the worst thing you have said to another person? they’re a b

30. Where do you like to be kissed? lips and neck

31. What is more difficult for you, looking into someones eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someones eyes when they are telling you how they feel? the first one

32. Think of the last time you were REALLY angry. WHY were you angry? Do you still feel the same way? i was tired, sleep deprived, had a migraine from drinking too much. so i got upset at my boyfriend, but at least i knew not to say anything i’d regret to him.  we talked about it the day after and we’re all good now.

33. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You have enough time to make ONE phone call. Who do you call? What do you tell them? if i wasnt already with my mom, then my mom. i’d tell her i love her and everyone else. i would want to hear her voice before i go.

34. You are at the doctor’s office and he has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? What do you do with your remaining days? Would you be afraid? i’d tell those who are important to me first and spend as much time as i could with them.at first, i’d be afraid, but i know where i’m going so i’d just miss everyone more than anything

35. You can have one of the following two things. Which do you choose? Why? i dont see the choices

36. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late even once more, you are fired. Do you take the time to save the dogs life? Why or Why not? i can’t see my boss saying that to me, but i’d do my best to save that dog

37. Would you rather be hurt by the one you trust the most or the one you love the most? well, essentially, they’re the same people so I’d end up getting hurt by both

38. Your best friend confesses that he/she has feelings for you more than just friendship. He/she is falling in love with you. What do you (or did you) do/say? my best friend is my boyfriend. haha

39. Think of the last person who you know that died. You have the chance to give them 1 hour of life back, but you have to give up one year of yours. Do you do it? Why or Why not? yes. I’d do that for my boyfriend so he’d be able to send one more hour with his grandpa

40. Are you the kind of friend that you would want to have as a friend? yes. haha

41. Does love = sex? not for everyone

42.Your boss tells your coworker that they have to let them go because of work shortage, and they are the newest employee. You have been there much longer. Your coworker has a family to support and no other means of income. Do you go to your boss and offer to leave the company? Why or Why not? honestly no. I also have financial things to take care of my own. I would very horrible, but i just can’t

43.When was the last time you told someone HONESTLY how you felt regardless of how difficult it was for you to say? Who was it? What did you have to tell the person? just shared my intimacy life with a guy friend on a long road trip. nothing too bad, but i dont really talk about stuff that personal to me. haha

44. What would be (or what was) harder for you to tell a member of the opposite sex, you love them or that you do not love them back? that i didn’t love them back or more so the feeling was not mutual 

45. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Why would it be hard to lose? my love for people. you can’t tell me to stop loving someone

46. Excluding romantic love, when was the last time you told someone you loved them. Who were they to you? my kiddos at work

47. If there was one moment and one time in the last month what would you change and why? honestly, i cant think of anything. not saying this last month was perfect, but it wasnt too bad

48.Imagine it is a dark night, you are alone, it is raining outside, you hear someone walking around outside your window. WHO do you wish was there with you? uhh, a wwe fighter. haha jk probably my boyfriend

49. Would you give a homeless person CPR if they were dying? Why or Why not? yes. i’d always to try save a life

50.You are holding onto your grandmother’s hand and the hand of a newborn that you do not know as they hang over the edge of a cliff. You have to let one go to save the other. Who do you let fall to their death? What was your rationale for making the decision? neither one of my grandmas are here 

51. Are you old fashioned? in some ways

52. When was the last time you were nice to someone and did NOT expect anything in return for it? work. haha

53.Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a broken heart, or never loved at all? Why? how it is true love when there’s a broken heart?

54.If you could do anything or wish anything, what would it be? being able to travel anywhere and anytime

55. What was the last thing you ate? a chocolate chip muffin

56. What kind of guys are you usually attracted to? guys who are kind to others, athletic, and hott. haha. honest truth

57. What’s the stupidest thing that’s happened to you that ended a friendship? they drunk way to much and got on my nerves

58. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve had sex at a time? vcard stil here but when my boyfriend comes to visit, we get intimate about 2-3 time a day. hahahaha morning, mid day, and night. lol

59. What reality shows do you watch? not much. sometimes KUWTK here and there 60. Post a video of yourself here: no thank you

61. Where do you work? at a daycare

62. Have you ever gone up to a car thinking it was yours and tried to get in it? no i always check the plates

63. Where do you buy most of your clothes? tj maxx

64. If you were very intelligent and had the capability to have any profession, what would you like to be? teacher. haha

65. What’s your most irrational fear? use to be dolls. ahaha

66. How many radio stations do you listen to? i have about five saved on my car, but i dont really listen to the radio often. i usually just listen to my own music

67. What kind of music do they have? today’s top hits and Christian

68. Would you rather go to Greece or Hawaii? hawaii!!

69. Musicals: Yay or Nay? depends some yes some i’d pass

70. What are the next concerts you’ll be going to? i dont have any planned right now

71. What was the last conversation you had with your best friend about? the meeting we had

72. Are you one of those people that LOVE to hug others? nah, depends on the person but a quick hug is okay if we’re not that close, but if we are then sure, hug on!

[jonythewolfwwf-blog]

First Blood match should come back!

One match we might never see again but definitely should come back is the infamous first blood match! The first ever one was Kane VS Stone Cold for the WWF title in which The Undertaker interfered in Kane's favor and helped Kane win the title. Stone Cold won it back 24 hours later on Raw is War but the title change was still exciting. Point is, the thrill of waiting for someone to bleed instead of getting pinned is what really made these matches so exciting and gave them that flair that you won't get in most matches these days. Of course I don't think the WWE would even consider it in this PG ERA that we now unfortunately live in, but I think it would definitely bring in more viewers and create a huge buzz if perhaps they can pull it off on a Monday Night Raw or a pay per view, perhaps a match like Brock Lesnar VS Kane or Kevin Owens VS Randy Orton. Even a 13 year old kid knows wrestling is "fake" so I really don't see why the WWE couldnt at LEAST consider it. Would you really lose ALL your investors if you did this ONE match ONE more time just to at LEAST see what kind of results rating rise you would get? I just miss the days where even on a regular episode of Raw they would bring out new and creative matches every week like "dog collar match", "I quit match", "leather strap match" and a bunch more I can't even think of right now. Now every single match is just a normal pinfall 10 second count out match. That last PPV "Clash of Champions" was some of the worst shit I've ever had to watch in my whole life as a wrestling fan. The aggressive fire that made WWE the cool brand in wrestling is just gone and dead BUT they can bring it all back if they just found a way to bring this match back and shock the world with a ballsy move like this one. The best match I seen this year in WWE was definitely that Hell in a Cell with Shane McMahon Vs Kevin Owens, it almost felt I was back in the attitude era for the last 10 minutes or so of that match when Shane McMahon decides to jump off the top of the cell onto the announcers table from 20 feet high just to miss Kevin Owens because of Sami Zayn luckily pulling him out of the way. That match had aggression, it had spontaneous energy, it kept you thinking WHATS GOING TO FUCKING HAPPEN ANY MINUTE, which is a feeling that WWE does not create rarely ever these days. I just think they need to drop the TV PG thing and go back to what saved the company in the first place, which was creations like the First Blood match. If you can think of 2 wrestlers you would like to see in a first blood match just comment those 2 below!

This has been another JonyTheWolf article! Any wrestling topics you'd like me to write about just message me and I'll heavily consider your ideas :) ! Follow me on Twitter and IG @Jonythewolfwwf to keep up with me and support! From South Florida, goodnight everybody!

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III (August 20 2017)

The first thing I saw coming out of the Atlantic Center - Barclays Center stop was a group of fans posing for some pre-roll footage for WWE or a local news show’s use. Chanting “NXT” and posing in mock menace, the crowd was only of interest to me because they blocked the sidewalk and my path to join two friends at Don Chignon for a pre-show meal and cocktail. 

Last week, I attended Evolve 91 and PROGRESS NYC at a youth recreational center in Corona, Queens. This week, I attended TakeOver: Brooklyn III at the Barclays Center, which is as different from the Elmcor Youth Center as the temperature was in the two buildings on two different August evenings. However, the similarities are worth a chuckle. At both shows, there were fans who were just a little socially awkward, who tried a little too hard to start chants that would go nowhere to prove that they know all about the wrestlers. At both shows, cameramen had spotters clad in black who had to make sure that the camera operators would be able to travel around the ring and film everything. At one point, there were technical difficulties at the Barclays Center that was only different than the technical difficulties an independent wrestling show might suffer by dint of scale. And I’m sure that fourth row floor seats at the Barclays Center wouldn’t have been that much better than fourth row floor seats at the Elmcor Youth Center.

So, I was glad that we were in the arena’s upper bowl in seats that had clear sight lines of the entrance ramp and the ring. The only obstacle to a good view would be my fellow fans in the row before ours who would stand up to record everything on their phones. I don’t know if the WWE tried to pretend that this was a full house, but there were many empty seats across from me on the hard camera side even by the main event. It corroborates reports that the secondary market for TakeOver tickets has fallen through the floor. 

Before the show started, they played a backstage interview segment where Renee asked Becky Lynch and Bayley who they thought would win the NXT Women’s Championship match. Lynch received her usual cheers, but the crowd was surprisingly vocal about their dislike for Bayley. I’m surprised that the crowd has turned on Bayley, but character stagnation and character assassination will turn even the easiest going babyface into someone that the crowd hates. I suppose that Bayley can turn back, but it’s disappointing to see Bayley’s potential so thoroughly squandered.

The pre-show had an aborted No Way Jose vs. Lars Sullivan match, a perfectly acceptable Peyton Royce vs. Sara Logan match, and a surprise appearance from Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Wolfgang, and Pete Dunne. The cheers for Bate and Dunne were genuine because the match was unannounced, and the match told a fun story about how Bate and Dunne Were evenly matched. Therefore, Dunne and Wolfgang focused their attack on Trent Seven to eliminate him from the match. With Seven out of the way, Dunne and Wolfgang could work over Bate at length and even use a blind tag to allow Wolfgang to hit a swanton bomb that took Bate by surprise and score Wolfgang the victory. There were two separate “This is Progress” chants during the match, which amused me. A friend asked me if Dunne would attack Wolfgang after the match, and I responded that he doesn’t have a reason to be a dick for no reason, which is some kind of impressive logic trap. 

1. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas w/Zelina Vega

I hadn’t realized that they had added lyrics to Johnny Gargano’s entrance theme, which is an unfortunate choice. The crowd loves Gargano, while no one clapped for or booed against Almas; the “Johnny Wrestling” chants supported Gargano, and that Almas was wrestling Gargano was irrelevant to the fans early. There was one “Los Ingobernables” sign by the entrance ramp, and I wondered if I were the only one who appreciated the fact that both Tetsuya Naito, leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Almas, former leader of Los Ingobernables, have really energetic music that belie their “tranquilo” attitudes. Gargano looked to use his speed to take Almas off guard with some crisp mat wrestling early in the match, but Almas kicked out at one. Gargano and Almas combined a little bit of everything, from American independent mat wrestling to lucha libre to Japanese strike exchanges into some really great sequences; Gargano’s La Mistica transition into the Garga-No Escape that then led to Almas rolling through and powerbombing Gargano was one of the hottest moments for an energetic crowd. I also respected the fact that Almas worked on Gargano’s left arm throughout the match, and Gargano was smart enough to adjust his position so that he would use the right arm when he and Almas hit their double clothesline spot. They say that there is a great woman behind every great man, so Zelina Vega seems to be taking a shot at becoming the great woman behind Almas by interfering on Almas’s behalf during the match. After Gargano hit a pair of superkicks and threw Almas into the second turnbuckle like a lawn dart, Vega threw a “#DIY” shirt at Gargano, which distracted him long enough for Almas to stun him and hit a hammerlock DDT to score the victory. This was an incredible opener, and it was a great reminder that, even if the card looks underwhelming on paper, TakeOver shows are usually great in the ring. And, as I commented to my friend, the build to the eventual Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano feud will be incredible.

2.  NXT Tag Team Championship match: The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) (c) w/Paul Ellering vs. Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) w/Nikki Cross and Killian Dain

I still can’t tell Akam and Rezar apart, so I hope that they do something to differentiate them at some point. It’s also possible that I just need to pay closer attention. It’s hard to find an emotional connection to a match that features a monster tag team that destroyed fan favorites like American Alpha, the Revival, and #DIY and an aggressively discordant faction like Sanity. In the end, Wolfe’s surprising performance and Nikki Cross’s enthusiasm ringside led me to root for Sanity. Because Wolfe looks like a second tier villain on a good season of Justified, it’s easy to forget that he’s actually a good in-ring wrestler. Young, who looks like he would also fit in Boyd Crowder’s gang, is an experienced tag team wrestler, so it almost made sense that he would insert himself into the match in Dain’s place. Dain, of course, would make all of these seem sensible later in one of the most impressive moments of the night when he hits a crossbody splash on the Author of Pain who had caught Nikki Cross after her dive from the top rope to the floor, sandwiching Cross between the Author and Dain and driving all three through a table. They protected Cross as well as they could in that spot, and it eliminated one Author to allow Young and Wolfe to double team the other Author and win the titles. The match exceeded my admittedly low expectations, and Cross played a major role in investing me into Sanity for the match. I also like the idea that Young outsmarted Ellering by announcing that Wolfe and Dain would wrestle and changing the line-up at the last moment by inserting himself into the match. The thrill of that victory was short-lived, however, when Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, reDRagon, appeared from the crowd to attack Young and Wolfe, hitting their finisher Chasing the Dragon on Young. reDRagon’s surprise appearance and declaration of intent gave the crowd another boost and made me enthusiastic about the future of tag team wrestling in NXT. I’m curious how Corey Graves contributed to the televised experience as a guest commentator.

3. Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami

I had very high expectations for this match because I wanted to see Black and Itami have a stiff, strike-heavy, faux-MMA style match. At first, I was disappointed to see Black once again absorb so much offense from Itami without responding, but then I started thinking about his entrance theme, which was ably performed by WWE’s musical guest for the evening, Code Orange. (For tonight, at least, Code Orange is the new performer for Black’s theme.) Black, through his theme, challenges this opponents to do their worst:

“No man is ever truly good No man is every truly evil I do the things you never could And we won't ever be equal No man is ever truly good No man is every truly evil I do the things you never could And we won't ever be equal You point your finger and play the victim So take your best shot Release the pressure You perpetrate your propaganda And now I'm calling you out”

(Black’s theme, “Root of All Evil,” is a great half a song.) Itami, beset by bad luck and worse health, probably feels like a victim of circumstances. He took his best shot at Black and tried to wear Black down with kicks, chops, a top rope Falcon Arrow, and a second Falcon Arrow. He tried to wear Black down on the mat with a long chinlock sequence when his strikes couldn’t finish Black. Then, Black called him out with the Black Mass roundhouse head kick, and Itami was down for the three count. It was a hard-hitting match, but Black’s matches have lacked drama because he absorbs damage until it’s time for him to hit the Black Mass to end the match. I joked when they announced that Jim Ross would be the special guest announcer for this match that they must be trolling him after he had such a hard time distinguishing wrestlers and pronouncing names at the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Specials.

4. NXT Women’s Championship match: Asuka (c) vs. Ember Moon

Part of the live experience is seeing wrestlers who don’t emerge from backstage during their entrances get into position on the stage while the rest of the crowd is supposed to be paying attention to the recap that’s played on the big screens. Similarly, I was fascinated by the little production touches throughout the show, like the fact that the camera operator has to stand on a ladder in order to film the commentators in their talking head segments between matches or the fact that a member of the production staff has to remove Percy Watson’s and Nigel McGuinness’s chairs before those segments and replace them immediately after. 

Similarly, watching them shuttle guests to the front row seats for their promotional appearances was fascinating to me. I wonder how long Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley can trade on their history as the Four Horsewomen of NXT (Charlotte was conspicuous in her absence for understandable reasons). The fact that the crowd booed Bayley would show that lifespan of the warm and fuzzy feelings of those memories is not as long as you would think. 

Because Asuka debuted after Banks, Charlotte, and Lynch had moved on from NXT (her first match was against Dana Brooke at NXT TakeOver: Respect, which was headlined by the 30 Minute Ironwoman match between Bayley and Banks, the last match involving the Four Horsewomen), Asuka doesn’t have the same connection with fans that Banks, Lynch, Charlotte, and Bayley have. The crowd’s unsure reaction to Asuka’s victory over Bayley to win the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Dallas made that clear. That said, the NXT crowd connected to Asuka through her swagger (no one, not even Banks at her peak, could match the sense of cool that Asuka projects during her entrances), ferocity (not even Lynch could match the violence that Asuka could unleash), or dominance (not even Charlotte or Banks could project Asuka’s sense of invincibility). 

The crowd was even split between Moon supporters and Asuka fans. Moon attacked Asuka from the bell, and Asuka had to regroup outside the ring. The action is incredible and too quick for anyone to realistically recap. It was best to let the match wash over you and take part in the spontaneous and loud dueling chants for the two women. Asuka targeted Moon’s surgically repaired arm, and the two trade incredibly stiff strikes to the crowd’s delight. This sums up the crowd’s reaction when Moon hit the Eclipse:

As a fan of Asuka, I was overjoyed when Asuka kicked out from the Eclipse and kicked out again after a Moon superkick. I was cheering my lungs out when Asuka had trapped Moon in the Asuka Lock and when Asuka forced Moon to finally submit in the middle of the ring. There is enough wiggle room from controversy to justify one more rematch since Asuka shielded herself from a second Eclipse by cowering behind the referee, but the way Moon soaked up the appreciative applause from the crowd after the match seemed like a conclusion for Moon in NXT. Meanwhile, I can continue to enjoy Asuka as the unbeatable champion. This was the match of the night, followed closely by Gargano vs. Almas, and I joked to my friend that it wouldn’t be an NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn show if they didn’t put the wrong match in the main event slot. Bayley vs. Banks should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn, and the Revival vs. #DIY should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn II. This should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn III. It was magnificent.

I also really enjoyed the little touch of Asuka staring at and taunting Lynch, Banks, and Bayley throughout the match. Seeing Asuka confront her predecessors in NXT put the entire match in context.

5. NXT Championship match: Bobby Roode (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

A surefire way to make me lose interest in a match is to trot out the NYPD to escort the nominal face in the match to the ring. I’m sure getting the NYPD Emerald Society to play the bagpipes for McIntyre’s performance seemed like a stroke of genius, but all it did was to make me (and a few other black and brown fans in my section) sit down and not care about McIntyre. Combined with the emotional fatigue after the Asuka vs. Moon match and Roode’s match style, which can be charitably called methodical, and I was more disengaged than bored during the match. It’s not as if the last match had completely worn the crowd down; Samoa Joe received very loud “Joe!” chants during his brief appearance ringside to promote his championship four way match at SummerSlam 2017. Roode’s match style gives the crowd very little to chew on, and McIntyre’s hard-hitting style could only provide so much flavor to the match. As the match began, the fans behind me waxed poetic about TNA”s short period when that company approached greatness, reminiscing about the heyday of the X Division and cursing Hulk Hogan for his perceived role in the company’s decline. McIntyre popped the crowd with a tope con hilo that Roode failed to catch him on, and it led to a pretty good closing section highlighted by Roode’s backstabber (my friend asked if he hit a Codebreaker, to which I replied that it was a Roode-a-bager because my Dad joke game is strong), McIntyre’s Future Shock DDT, Roode’s Glorious DDT, and the Claymore. I liked that Roode was hoisted on his own petard by trying to hit more than one Glorious DDT to ensure his victory, which allowed McIntyre to recover just long enough to hit the Claymore to win the match and the championship. It was a fine match, but it will be overshadowed by Asuka vs. Moon, and it would be remembered mostly for the post-match attack by reDRagon and a debuting Adam Cole. 

This was a really enjoyable show, and it proves once again that TakeOver shows should not be underestimated and that wrestling shows have a sweet spot about two and a half hours. 

[pan-matsuri]

Booking the First Ever Women’s Royal Rumble

There are rumors that the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble could occur in 2018. Given where the story is now, this is how I would book that match from start to finish. This was actually really fun to write! Booking a wrestling match is kind of like writing a story or a scenario for a roleplaying game. You set up the big spots and plot points and see how the players and characters react.

What is a Royal Rumble match?

In a Royal Rumble, you can only be eliminated if you are sent over the top rope and both your feet touch the ground.

Before the match, each wrestler draws a number. The wrestlers that draw #1 and #2 start the match in the ring. After a defined period of time, somewhere between 90 and 120 seconds, the wrestler who drew #3 enters, and so on until every wrestler has entered the match.

The winner is declared after all other competitors have been eliminated from the match.

Assumptions:

• This would be a Royal Rumble with 20 entrants. However, even making generous assumptions on active wrestlers, the main roster only has about 17 women. So the remaining spots will be filled with NXT women.

• While a lot of the hardcore fans watch everything WWE has to offer, this will be the first time for a lot of casual fans to see the NXT women. They need to be protected a bit and given a little extra care.

• I have no idea whether Alicia Fox is actually a wrestler or not. She was left out of the Women’s Gauntlet match on RAW, so I’m going to assume that she is not an active wrestler.

• Maria Kanellis and Maryse are assumed inactive.

• Asuka is the NXT Champion, Bayley is the Raw Champion after Summerslam, and Naomi is the Smackdown Champion. Carmella hasn’t cashed in the Money in the Bank contract yet.

#1 Naomi

Naomi is incredibly popular, and her opening theme is very energetic. Naomi entering at first will really get the audience excited for the match. It also allows her to dim the lights in the arena and feel the glow without disrupting the whole match. 

#2 Mickie James

Mickie James is a veteran on the roster, having been around since Trish Stratus and Lita were wrestling. In this match, she’ll be booked in a Chris Jericho sort of role, able to go the distance and survive any of the myriad threats that will be incoming.

Mickie and Naomi should be able to put on a solid open to the match, in order to warm up the audience for the ensuing chaos.

#3 Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch is straight fire. If Naomi and Mickie James warmed up the crowd, Becky will really turn up the heat. It seems a bit early for someone as popular as Becky to come out, but she’ll be able to play an underdog role throughout the match.

#4 Dana Brooke

Dana Brooke doesn’t really have much to bring to the match, which is a shame because I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. I think she currently has a story going on with Mickie James that can be played on for a bit of storytelling.

#5 Natalya

Similarly, Natalya doesn’t have much to bring, but can play against Naomi and Becky for some classic face versus heel action.

No eliminations just yet, so I would have the commentators start playing that up. Five women doesn’t make a crowded ring, especially with the way WWE typically books the women’s divisions, so I would also have a lot of close eliminations to show that they really need an extra push to keep things moving.

#6 Nia Jax

And here’s where we start having eliminations. Nia Jax has been dominant on Raw and makes a perfect monster to start clearing the field. Dana Brooke and Natalya are perfect fodder for Nia, and the eliminations should reignite the energy of the match.

Eliminations: #6 Nia Jax eliminates #4 Dana Brooke and #5 Natalya

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #6 Nia Jax

#7 Asuka

The crowd will go nuts when Asuka’s music starts playing, which should alert the casual audience that she’s a huge deal. The commentators definitely should play this up.

Naomi, Mickie, and Becky should play dead, which allows for a showdown between the dominant Nia Jax and the hyped up Asuka. Ultimately, right before the countdown starts, Asuka pulls off the surprise elimination of Nia, establishing herself as the true threat in the Rumble.

Eliminations: #7 Asuka eliminates #6 Nia Jax

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka

#8 Peyton Royce & Billie Kay

If Alicia Fox is actually a wrestler, than have her enter here instead. However, the Iconic Duo could be more fun, since they could make some excuse to enter together at #8.

They could try to double team Asuka, only to be eliminated together in short order. Think Braun Strowman suplexing Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger at the same time.

Eliminations: #7 Asuka eliminates #8 Iconic Duo

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka

#9 Lana

This is a chance to give Asuka a break. Lana has an instant storyline connection with Naomi, so they can take the focus of the match. Lana should be slippery tho, barely avoiding elimination by Naomi. Naomi should be rested enough at this point to carry the match for the next couple rounds.

#10 Tamina

I’m not sure what Smackdown wants me to feel about the relationship between Tamina and Lana. I think Tamina is supposed to be a mentor to Lana, but they’ve never given Tamina a chance to explain that because she is not good at talking. The commentators also can’t be bothered to care about anything that’s not the men’s singles division, so I really don’t know! I’ll just assume the mentor relationship.

Naomi should eliminate Lana as Tamina is on her way to the ring, infuriating her. It gives an opportunity to work Naomi versus Tamina.

Eliminations: #1 Naomi eliminates #9 Lana

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #10 Tamina

#11 Alexa Bliss

Alexa should be booked with a chip on her shoulder. Since losing the Raw Championship at Summerslam to Bayley, she’s been out of title contention for far longer than she’d like. The commentators should remind the audience that Alexa lost the Smackdown Championship to Naomi at Wrestlemania and that Alexa wants nothing more than her own Wrestlemania moment.

Alexa should work with Tamina to attempt to eliminate Naomi, but when that fails, she immediately turns and eliminates Tamina. That stays in line with her personality as someone who’s willing to win by any means necessary, and Tamina kind of acts as a substitute for Nia Jax, in terms of Alexa hiding behind someone bigger than herself.

Eliminations: #11 Alexa Bliss eliminates #10 Tamina

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #11 Alexa Bliss

#12 Ruby Riot

This should be the intermission of the match, so to speak. There was a lot of action in the last round, so we need some stability and solid wrestling as a change of pace.

Ruby Riot, like all the NXT women, should go straight for Asuka. Becky and Mickie can fight in the background, giving the NXT women the spotlight. Alexa should play like The Miz and lay low by rolling out of the ring and hiding from Naomi, even though I personally hate that in battle royal matches.

#13 Bayley

Bayley should go straight for Alexa Bliss, who’s currently hiding behind the announce tables. After regaining her composure at Summerslam, Bayley should play up the babyface role and essentially scold Alexa for her underhanded tactics.

Alexa and Bayley should have a back and forth before Bayley is ultimately successful and looking strong. Bayley should then eye the remaining competition, taking particular note of the NXT talent.

Eliminations: #13 Bayley eliminates #11 Alexa Bliss

Remaining: #1 Naomi, #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #12 Ruby Riot, #13 Bayley

#14 Carmella

Carmella won’t come out alone. She’ll have James Ellsworth in tow, who is the worst person and I unapologetically love how all of the commentators also hate him.

Of course, there will be Ellsworth shenanigans. Most notably, Ellsworth will distract Naomi, allowing Carmella to eliminate her. She lingers, keeping an eye on Ellsworth, who is now trying to do the exact same thing to Becky. However, Becky catches on and eliminates Carmella.

Eliminations: #14 Carmella eliminates #1 Naomi, #3 Becky Lynch eliminates #14 Carmella

Remaining: #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #12 Ruby Riot, #13 Bayley

The action doesn’t stop there. Becky is furious at Ellsworth, and goes out of her way to drag him into the ring and lock in the Dis-arm-her. All the other combatants just wrestle around them, until eventually Ellsworth dies.

However, the commentators should call attention to what’s happening on the outside. While Naomi was enjoying the satisfaction of Becky killing Ellsworth, Carmella was running over to the referees and cashing in her Money in the Bank contract. The crowd goes nuts as a match in a match has started, and Carmella knocks Naomi cold, throws her in the ring, and pulls off a quick pinfall victory, becoming the new Smackdown Champion. I think it would be a really unique way to cash in, but I’m not sure if the heel heat would kill the match. If they need extra time, they can use some of the next round.

#15 Emma

Give Emma a chance! But not here. Emma will be eliminated fairly quickly to remind the audience that the Royal Rumble is still happening. She’ll get eliminated by Ruby Riot, who needs a chance to show why she’s in the rumble. It could also go to Mickie James, who deserves at least one elimination, but the NXT women need it more.

Eliminations: #12 Ruby Riot eliminates #15 Emma

Remaining: #2 Mickie James, #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #12 Ruby Riot, #13 Bayley

#16 Ember Moon

At this point, the only active main roster women to not enter yet are Charlotte and Sasha, which is fairly obvious why they would be last. So now the commentators should add to the speculation of when they will appear, and what other NXT women could still show up.

Ember Moon should go straight for Asuka, same as Ruby Riot did. Ruby’s got momentum after having eliminated someone, so she can go after anyone. Eliminations will slow down because we’re down to the best of the best. Ember will have her time to shine later in the match.

#17 Charlotte Flair

Charlotte Flair finally makes an appearance as the last of the Smackdown women, meaning that Sasha Banks is the last remaining entrant whose identity is known. Charlotte should focus on Bayley, ignoring the NXT talent and coming to the aid of Becky.

#18 Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks comes out next, leaving the remaining entrants as a surprise. Sasha should do the same as Charlotte, except this time in defense of Bayley.

There should be a clear separation between the main roster women and the NXT women, and the commentators should hint at this, suggesting there’s two separate matches going on.

#19 Nikki Bella

This spot should go to a returning star, and really the only clear options are Nikki Bella or Paige. I think Paige would have too much storyline and would need much more of the Royal Rumble booked around her return. Nikki Bella could play the role of going where the company wants her to go, especially with John Cena’s influence.

Nikki Bella should target Mickie James, who has nearly made it the entire match, and finally eliminate her. But then, Asuka will eliminate Nikki, reminding the crowd that, despite everything that’s happened in the match, she is the real threat. It’s also a good time to start eliminating people because there would have been nine wrestlers in the ring at once.

Eliminations: #19 Nikki Bella eliminates #2 Mickie James, #7 Asuka eliminates #19 Nikki Bella

Remaining: #3 Becky Lynch, #7 Asuka, #12 Ruby Riot, #13 Bayley, #16 Ember Moon, #17 Charlotte Flair, #18 Sasha Banks

#20 Nikki Cross

The final entrant would be Nikki Cross. Her moment in the spotlight comes from the fact that, despite her music playing, she never comes down the ramp. Instead, she sprints out from the crowd and surprises the women, causing chaos. This protects and showcases her character as an insane person.

When the chaos settles, there’s a perfect setting. On one side of the ring is the Four Horsewomen: Bayley, Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky. On the other side of the ring is the next generation of women from NXT: Asuka, Nikki, Ruby, and Ember. A staredown ensues, and the commentators should really hype this moment. “The winner of this match could determine the future of the WWE.”

Uneasy alliances are formed, and the two sides clash, sowing seeds for future feuds and storylines. Bayley goes after Asuka, knowing just how dangerous she is, having lost her own NXT title to Asuka almost two years prior. Charlotte goes after Nikki, suggesting a clash between the honor of her wrestling lineage versus the chaos of SANitY. Sasha goes after Ruby, as an organized and legit boss faces the rough around the edges punk. Becky goes after Ember, in a contest to see whose fire is stronger.

Eventually, the eliminations start. First, Charlotte eliminates Nikki Cross fairly easily. Sasha does the same to Ruby Riot. However, Becky Lynch ultimately falls to Ember Moon. Charlotte is enraged, and goes in swinging against Ember, but Ember eliminates her as well. Sasha sees her greatest rival eliminated and immediately realizes that Ember is no joke. After a back and forth, Ember manages to eliminate Sasha as well.

Three of the horsewomen lay fallen outside the ring, while Ember Moon stands tall. The commentators should definitely take note of this, which gives Ember her character defining moment, successfully protecting the woman from NXT. At this point, while Ember is surveying her defeated enemies, Bayley and Asuka take advantage and eliminate her. Bayley successfully gets revenge, and Asuka eliminates who she feels is her biggest threat.

And then there was two.

Eliminations: #17 Charlotte Flair eliminates #20 Nikki Cross, #18 Sasha Banks eliminates #12 Ruby Riot, #16 Ember Moon eliminates #3 Becky Lynch and #17 Charlotte Flair and #18 Sasha Banks, #13 Bayley and #7 Asuka eliminate #16 Ember Moon

Remaining: #7 Asuka, #13 Bayley

The Final

With only two competitors remaining, the final battle begins, a rematch from NXT Takeover: Dallas.

The commentators have a lot of opportunities in this match. For example, Asuka entered as lucky number 7, but did she even really need the luck? Meanwhile, Bayley entered as unlucky number 13, but has certainly overcome it.

The two look very evenly matched, but only one can remain. When the bell rings, it will be Asuka left alone in the ring, finally eliminating Bayley. A new competitor to be feared, and as her theme plays, everyone recognizes that she is the future.

Eliminations: #7 Asuka eliminates #13 Bayley

Winner: #7 Asuka

The Aftermath

Asuka is now guaranteed a match at Wrestlemania. People now assume that she’ll be heading to the main roster… except that she is still the NXT Champion.

Asuka continues to appear on NXT, with the fate of all three Championships uncertain. Will Asuka be stripped of her title, or will she lose it to one of the other NXT women? Will Asuka compete against Bayley for the Raw Championship, or will she pick the easy target and face Carmella for the Smackdown Championship? They can play on this uncertainty for months.

Also uncertain is the future of Ember Moon, Ruby Riot, and Nikki Cross. Each of them showed they can compete on the same level as the Four Horsewomen, so would they be called up to the main roster? Or would they stay in NXT and hope for a shot at that title? If they do get called up, they would need to be assigned to the same brand as their rivals in the Royal Rumble.

Downsides to this Booking

• Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot come off as much weaker than Asuka or Ember Moon. Ruby at least gets an elimination, tho to be honest I did originally give that elimination to Mickie James in the first draft.

• The Carmella cash in spot seems kind of dubious. It could be too distracting to the main match, which could be fine to give the other competitors a break. Or it could flop entirely, and just kill the excitement of the crowd. The first draft had Naomi eliminated by Tamina right before Tamina is eliminated by Alexa. If Naomi is not the champion, or if Carmella has already cashed in, then this sequence might be much better.

• Paige. If Paige does ultimately return to WWE, the Royal Rumble is the perfect place to do it. But she would need to be the focal point of the match, whereas this booking places the central focus on Asuka and the NXT women.

• Sucks to be Natalya.

What do you all think? Would this be an exciting match, fitting of the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match?