The Wrestling Thread Won't Beg, But it will Ask Nicely

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[OnTheAir]

The future mother of my future children!

 

[chamber-music]

Love dat Layla!

 

[Pink Ranger]

Somehow, I think had Darren Young been an NFL player and he came out, I think there would be less acceptance from the other NFL players.

But the WWE has thrown their support towards him and he's gotten positive tweets from the entire WWE. I don't know if that happens in the NFL. It's already happened in the UFC.

In some ways, it might be easier to come out in the WWE than it would be in the NFL, or even any of the other major sports leagues (until Jason Collins gets a contract, he still doesn't count as an active and openly gay major league athlete, sorry Jason).

The WWE is a singular business entity, that is publicly traded and has a global brand. A company with that profile usually has to have internal policies to support employees and contractors being able to be relatively open with their lives and sexual orientations.

The NFL is an association of basically 32 separate businesses, some of which are publicly traded entities, with others being completely private. A player is basically first and foremost the employee of one of those 32 businesses, so he is at the mercy of the culture of the 1/32 business he is contracted to. Depending on the nature of the team he's on, the market he plays in, etc., it could very well not be a wise decision to come out of the closet.

 

[UnionJack]

Woooah close up pictures of Layla don't do her well.
Abit of a drag look.

 

[chamber-music]

I didn't even know Darren Young was the first openly gay wrestler. I could of sworn some other dudes had come out before but I guess not.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

I remember something like this being a topic for Mania. Basically you make a balanced (Can't be all main events) 8 match card using previous Summerslam matches. You must have a WWE, WHC, IC and Tag Title match on the card and you can't use any wrestler twice.

WWE Title Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
The Attitude Era and two of my favorite wrestlers of all-time. I still remember a lot of the promos for this match, and for me at the time it was tantamount to the Mega Powers colliding.

WHC Title Match: Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit
This was the hardest to pick, there weren't many that I enjoyed of the ones I did are on other matches. I wasn't watching wrestling at the time but I remember randomly catching this match and being impressed by the story, didn't think Orton was going over and Benoit put him over in the end. There are some really horrible sounding WHC matches.

Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog
When I started watching i was a huge Hart mark. I went back as a kid and rented this on VHS and it's simply a classic match. It had a great story and it had a great payoff.

WWE Tag Titles: Legion Of Doom vs. The Nasty Boys
Tag titles were hard to select as well. I went with this one because LOD are one of my favorite tag teams and I don't really like the Nasty Boys at all so watching them getting their heads kicked in would be fun for me.

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar
Kinda cheating and there is a chance that the match could be a dud but I love the storyline so far, it's been good from top to bottom. A match that in itself has got me to buy the PPV.

Hulk Hogan vs. HBK
I actually love this match because of how controversial it is with all the behind the scenes stuff. And even when he is overselling HBK is still entertaining. The greatest of all time vs. Hulk Hogan.

Razor Ramon vs. Ted DiBiase
Great story for this one and cemented the face turn for Razor. All you need for a face turn back in those days is a worse heel and the Million Dollar Man was an all time great heel.

Edge/Sable vs. Marc Mero/Jacqueline
I'm a sucker for mystery partner matches and I remember at the time I was rooting for Edge cause I thought his gimmick was great and he was new and you weren't sure if he was going to get a push or not. Gotta get a woman on the card and doesn't hurt to watch Sable in her prime.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I didn't even know Darren Young was the first openly gay wrestler. I could of sworn some other dudes had come out before but I guess not.

The litmus test was always A) still active full-time in their sport, and B) active in the major league level of their sport.

Pat Patterson was an old man by the time his sexuality was really public. We can debate about Orlando Jordan, whether TNA is considered the equivalent of the Canadian Football League.

Darren Young's actions are fairly significant, because he really had a lot to lose by doing this. He's relatively young, and his career is just beginning in many ways. And he's a really raw talent too, it's not like he's a bona fide superstar yet. Frankly, I never saw too much potential in him, and I'm sure others agree. But wrestling being what it is, real-life scenarios can automatically make stars out of mediocre workers; such a phenomenon is not restricted to matters of sexual orientation.

 

[Lobo]

From Jericho's twitter

Writing my third autobiography while on tour and I'm in the middle of the telling the tale of the amazing Jericho-HBK angle of 2008. Definitely the best angle of my career and one of the best angles in WWE history!! You're gonna love reading about this one guys.... #headthroughtheJeriTron5000

 

[SpideyFan866]

I didn't even know Darren Young was the first openly gay wrestler. I could of sworn some other dudes had come out before but I guess not.

I'm 90% sure Orlando Jordan was the first openly gay wrestler. At least, of "known" wrestlers.

I think Young is just the first in WWE.

 

[Hunter Rider]

WWE Title Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
The Attitude Era and two of my favorite wrestlers of all-time. I still remember a lot of the promos for this match, and for me at the time it was tantamount to the Mega Powers colliding.

WHC Title Match: Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit
This was the hardest to pick, there weren't many that I enjoyed of the ones I did are on other matches. I wasn't watching wrestling at the time but I remember randomly catching this match and being impressed by the story, didn't think Orton was going over and Benoit put him over in the end. There are some really horrible sounding WHC matches.

Intercontinental Title Match: Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog
When I started watching i was a huge Hart mark. I went back as a kid and rented this on VHS and it's simply a classic match. It had a great story and it had a great payoff.

WWE Tag Titles: Legion Of Doom vs. The Nasty Boys
Tag titles were hard to select as well. I went with this one because LOD are one of my favorite tag teams and I don't really like the Nasty Boys at all so watching them getting their heads kicked in would be fun for me.

CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar
Kinda cheating and there is a chance that the match could be a dud but I love the storyline so far, it's been good from top to bottom. A match that in itself has got me to buy the PPV.

Hulk Hogan vs. HBK
I actually love this match because of how controversial it is with all the behind the scenes stuff. And even when he is overselling HBK is still entertaining. The greatest of all time vs. Hulk Hogan.

Razor Ramon vs. Ted DiBiase
Great story for this one and cemented the face turn for Razor. All you need for a face turn back in those days is a worse heel and the Million Dollar Man was an all time great heel.

Edge/Sable vs. Marc Mero/Jacqueline
I'm a sucker for mystery partner matches and I remember at the time I was rooting for Edge cause I thought his gimmick was great and he was new and you weren't sure if he was going to get a push or not. Gotta get a woman on the card and doesn't hurt to watch Sable in her prime.

Appreciate the input.

I remember the build to that Austin/Taker match, Highway to Hell was the theme of the summer of 1998! The Bret vs Bulldog match is a classic, the IC title match was so hard to choose, and that match is made even more incredible now we know Davey Boy was out of shape and boozed & pilled up.

 

[Hunter Rider]

In case anyone wants to see (potentially) what awaits at BFG between AJ and Bully, here's their other PPV match, one of TNA's best ever matches IMO.

Bully Ray vs AJ Styles - Slammiversary 2011

From Jericho's twitter

I totally agree with Jericho, his feud with Shawn in 2008 is one of the best in the history of the business.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Wasn't Brooklyn Brawler said to be Pat Patterson's lover, and everyone in the business knew?

 

[The End]

They could probably do an angle around Darren Young having come out.

Ryback is a bully that throws his weight around. Have him bully Young, have Young stand up to Ryback as a babyface.

It could probably work.

 

[vantheman77]

Hardcore Justice on Impact was a great show, perhaps a little bit better than Destination X.

The opening ladder match was awesome and I called it that Frank Kazarian would win that match to gain 20 points and get the rub from 3 former TNA World Champions of Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, and Austin Aries.

The Knockouts tornado match was good and Velvet Sky didn't show up as she was supposed to, but I don't think she was necessary seeing how the match turn out. ODB shined in this one, despite this being Mickie James' hometown.

The tables match was okay, but I did like Samoa Joe ringing Bobby Roode's bell and I knew Roode was going to win that one. The EGO has landed that night.

The Main Event Mafia were all over the show. I'm glad that TNA told the truth about Kurt Angle, but they had to speed forward their plans to find a replacement and some storylines. The MEM and EGO are more relevant than the Aces and Eights.

The World title Steel Cage match between Chris Sabin and Bully Ray was much better than the one in Destination X. However, Bully Ray's title win took a backseat to Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz when Ortiz turned on Rampage to cost Sabin the World title and join the Aces and Eights.

Now as for the spoilers for next week's Impact, I'm glad that AJ Styles went back to his old self because the dark persona didn't work out and all it did was take away the things that made AJ Styles great.

Also, notice that after Chris Sabin lost the title he wasn't seen again. Bully Ray got the better end when he has Brooke by his side with a little twist. The Aces and Eights gain new members, but loses another member.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Wasn't Brooklyn Brawler said to be Pat Patterson's lover, and everyone in the business knew?

Yeah, I heard that too. Feel free to shudder along with me. Ready? 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

But seriously though, that was always a rumour, and a "dirty little secret." In that vein, you can't say that those two were openly anything.

The good thing about what Darren did is he said it about as casually as any other wrestler would be publicly revealing his sexual orientation, whether it is Daniel Bryan and Brie going on a date in Total Divas, Rey Mysterio bringing his family on TV or Ric Flair posting pictures on the internet of him chasing three terrified prostitutes around a rented, soiled Airstream trailer with a Shake Weight in one hand and an inflatable Ronald McDonald doll in the other.

 

[Superark]

In case anyone wants to see (potentially) what awaits at BFG between AJ and Bully, here's their other PPV match, one of TNA's best ever matches IMO.

Bully Ray vs AJ Styles - Slammiversary 2011



I totally agree with Jericho, his feud with Shawn in 2008 is one of the best in the history of the business.

Love that match! While I'm not one who wishes wrestlers would go to WWE just for the sake of saying they were in WWE, it's shame the masses will never get to see the talent of Styles and we will never get the classics that could have been between him vs. Cena, Punk, Bryan, Taker etc.

I think he is so good and does such a great job with his character that he could have been over huge. He has the intangibles that many do not have today.

 

[Superark]

credit www.pwinsider.com

VINCE MCMAHON NOT LIKING THE WAY CHRISTIAN LOOKS, KURT ANGLE GETTING INTO IT WITH SHAWN MICHAELS
by Chris Maffei @ 12:04 PM on 8/16/2013


Former WWE lead writer Alex Greenfield was a guest with John Pollock this week discussing a ton of topics including the build for SummerSlam this year, the WWE's production infrastructure and lots more from his own time in company from 2005-06. The full show is up at http://fightnetwork.com/news/40568:aug.-15-edition-of-pollock-greenfield/ and also available at iTunes by subscribing to Live Audio Wrestling.

Below are some highlights from the chat:
Vince McMahon wanting to censor Christian's face on television with a blue dot:
Right before I started, there was a big show, I think it might have been in Toronto. Christian was just so completely over, and everybody thought he was going to get a push at, I think it was the World Heavyweight Championship at that point. We were on the plane one time shortly after I started, and Vince was just like “God damn, I just don’t like his face. His face really bothers me." I was like, “He’s ugly, Vince?” “No, it’s not that he’s ugly, it’s just, I don’t know, it’s ratty! You know what we should do? That Kennedy gimmick.” And we’re all like, “What?” Some see-on of the Kennedy fortune I guess got arrested for rape in the 1990s at some point. When the woman who was accusing him was on the stand, all of the networks put a blue dot over her face. Vince was like, “God damn, you know what we should do? We should put a blue dot over his face whenever he comes out.” It was the flight to Sheffield, England, also the flight where the Spirit Squad idea was invented. This was a whole flight of bad ideas.
Backstage ar
gument Angle and Michaels had back in 2005:
I always found Shawn to be an entitled prick. He tried this s*** with Angle one night; Angle wasn't having it, and threw him around like a rag-doll. I remember I was supposed to do some sort of stand-up interview, a backstage deal with Angle afterward, and Shawn comes up like a house of fire, like “You were taking liberties!” And it’s because Shawn was booked to lose a match and started his overselling nonsense, because that’s the kind of thing he always did because he’s a guy who hated losing. I don’t argue with anyone that, when he’s working with friends in exactly the way he wants, yes, he’s one of the best performers of all time. That doesn't mean you’re one of the best performers of all time, though, if you can’t do it with people who aren't your friends.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I have to be honest, I listened to a radio interview with Greenfield a while ago and he came off like a bitter, obnoxious little boy who never thought he had a bad idea and was hung up on being Jewish, and who quite frankly didn't have a ****ing clue about pro wrestling, but he did take the standard digs at HHH, HBK, Vince and Orton.

Love that match! While I'm not one who wishes wrestlers would go to WWE just for the sake of saying they were in WWE, it's shame the masses will never get to see the talent of Styles and we will never get the classics that could have been between him vs. Cena, Punk, Bryan, Taker etc.

I think he is so good and does such a great job with his character that he could have been over huge. He has the intangibles that many do not have today.

I agree and so does Bret Hart, he's went on record a few times saying he thinks AJ is one of the best performers of the last decade and is sad that he'll never get the chance to be showcased on the big stage. I also agree that despite his mediocre mic skills he would have gotten over huge in the same way Hardy and RVD did without being able to cut a great promo, and in the ring he's comfortably better than both IMO.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Dat Maryse.

An ex-girlfriend of mine looks so much like Maryse in the face. Obviously, doesn't have the body of Maryse But a lot of similar facial features. Particularly the smile.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Specter313]

-WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus announced via her official website that her baby is due next month, and that it will be a baby boy. She also noted that she will be naming the child "Maximum," or "Max" for short. For more, including photos from her baby shower, visit TrishStratus.com.

 

[Donnie Darko]

When I first glanced at that, my mind put it together as "Trish Stratus will be in Maxim."