All the cool kids are watching Nitro on Monday nights, you know.
LIVE (after a one week break for a mini-series) from Winston-Salem, NC
Your hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan & Mongo. Funny how Bischoff keeps calling it “the Warzone”, considering what RAW would become less than a year later.
Content warning this week? WTF? Also, I unlocked an achievement for watching a bunch of episodes of RAW on the Network. It’s an eventful show and I haven’t even started it yet! (Oh man, back when I was still watching the Network on TV screens instead of just on my computer all the time. Now I don’t even bother with the various app versions of it.)
Monday Night Raw Date: January 25, 2021 Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida Commentators: Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Michael Cole
It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and the big draw this week is the double return of Drew McIntyre and Goldberg. I’m not sure how much of an appeal that is supposed to have but WWE certainly sees something in it. Also we get a rematch from last week with Asuka defending the Women’s Title against Alexa Bliss, because WWE doesn’t like waiting on much. Let’s get to it.
I know independent wrestling isn't really discussed on the Blog, but this story on how some promoters have run shows during the pandemic while other promoters think it's wrong might be interesting for your readers.
Where do you stand on this matter? Should indie shows still be running right now? Would you go to one by you?
No, I would not. I have to be around people 8 hours a day because I have a full time job but going to malls freaks me out now and I haven’t been to a movie theatre for months or gone to a restaurant in months. I have no desire to be out interacting with the public in situations where I’m not getting paid for it. And Saskatchewan is one of the better places in the country for the virus! I can’t even imagine living in Florida right now.
Can Kerry topple Adams? How will the Midnight Express fare against Adias and Casey? What special announcement does Sunshine have in store for us? And who will join me for this marathon-like episode?
Another day, another billion-dollar deal for the WWE. It happens.
Plenty of discussion on that from multiple threads and there will surely be more tonight as people digest what it means. For me it means paying $5/month instead of $10 so I’ll probably just use the $60 I save annually on holiday pajamas. Tom Brady continues to haunt my world and now he’s legitimately way too close to home. But on the plus side Conor McGregor got knocked out.
RAW is tonight. They are going to wheel out Goldberg again hoping that we care. And Alexa Bliss is being booked like a monster again for some reason and gets a shot at ASUKA. The most interesting thing for me is Matt Riddle trying to fight the Hurt Business gauntlet to earn a U.S. Title shot. There’s potential for a decent match or two in there.
Well apaprently at least one big surprise will happen at the Rumble, STWW podcast with Prichard hinted heavily at it. What could it be? Rock surprise appearance to set up Rock vs Roman at Mania? Edge, Cena, Christian, HBK in the Rumble? Becky returns one month after giving birth?
With NBC Universal investing $Texas (with a dollar sign) in WWE for 4 decades, wouldn't it just make more sense for them to buy the company entirely? I'm sure Vince could work in some sort of clause where he still has the final say on everything and can't be fired.
I think a lot of people are starting to suspect that might be the endgame, yeah. Honestly if someone offered him $4 billion like UFC got he’d probably take it.
AJW KORAKUEN HOLY WAR ’94: (03.03.1994) * “Seisen” translates as “Crusade”, but the Ringstarfield guy who uploaded this called it “Holy War”, which is a million times cooler so I’m going with that. The early part of the year tends to be a tad light in AJW (their big events were kinda Spring/Winter-y), but this one has some interesting stuff, though the “Interpromotional” stuff has taken a dive in favor of feuds going on within AJW itself. The Aja/Sakie duo is definitely getting pushed ahead of the “Monster Squad” team of Aja & Bull (which seems to be mostly for special appearances). We also miss Numacchi’s retirement ceremony, as the goofy comedy character only lasts about eight months or so before she’s gone.
As usual with this guy’s clips, you have to find the whole match by searching his “Videos” for the show name.
“TL;DR- Why Should I Care?”: Actually a really awesome show, with two ****-ish matches in the final slots.
KUMIKO MAEKAWA vs. MIKI YOKOE: * Even the narration on the YouTube video advertises this as a rarity, because Miki is “Soon Retired”. Though she wrestled a TON in 1993, it was generally untelevised “exhibition” stuff. Kumiko’s in blue, and Miki’s in this hideous green/blue Jobber Singlet, with what looks like big sneakers on.
Beulah McGillicutty tells fans that mail is pouring into her box and that the size of her segment does not matter but how it is used. A video package showcases her past appearances at the ECW Arena.
The Extreme Encyclopedia segment returns, hyping Rey Misterio, Jr. and Psicosis in Spanish.
I knew Peacock was doing poorly compared to other streaming services but I didnt realize it was “give Vince another billion” bad. Wrestling fans seem so focused on dwindling WWE ratings & Vince keeps cashing 10-figure checks.
It’s a content market and Vince has content. I think it’s short sighted but he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
So, I guess the WWE Network wasn’t as profitable as expected if NBC Universal can lock down a multi-year, exclusive content deal to fold it into the Peacock platform.
RIP WWE Network.
Well no wonder they’ve been half assing the content additions for the past couple of months. Hopefully I can still access it.
Let’s go with some more Stampede, this episode towards the end of the run, but with some interesting characters in it, some you might recognise and some you might not.
In NFL news, Tom Brady’s deal with Satan continues as he makes yet another Super Bowl, and this time will be the first QB to play in front of the home fans. OF COURSE.
As for the opponent? Buffalo and Kansas City are underway.
Between the Blue Lives Matter hats and t-shirts from the Last Ride and his recent comments on the Joe Rogan podcast, we all agree that it's a good thing that Undertaker bought into his gimmick and avoided interviews throughout his entire career, right? Has anybody gone from “I can't wait to see what he has to say” to “what did he say this time?” so quickly?
