Scott Keith

Texas Tornado IC Title Run

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When Kerry Von Erich won the IC Title from Perfect at Summerslam, was it always meant to be a few month run before dropping it back to Perfect?  Were there ever plans for Tornado-Perfect to meet at WM VII?  If Beefcake hadn't gotten hurt, he wins the title
instead of Tornado, but would it have ended the same way, dropping it back to Perfect?

Yes.  No.  We don't know.

The Master Plan

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Hey Scott, hope you are safe and well. I was reading an article where Vince stated AEW is not competition and he has more guys for him. Do you think Vince is just releasing the talent knowing Tony Khan will sign them and over saturate his roster like WCW did? Vince is a smart man and I have a feeling he is doing the massive releases to save money and watch AEW drown in talent. There is only so much TV time, and slots to go around. I know Tony let's talent work Indy dates to keep them happy, but, I really feel Vince has a master plan. Also, I havr heard one of Vinces negotiating tools is telling talent to go make more money when they can and come back. 

If his master plan is to let the competition draw 1.1 million a week on TV and do record buyrates with every PPV, then he's right on track, I guess.  

80s tag teams

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Of the WWF tag teams of the late 80s (Rockers / Bulldogs / Hart / Demolition / Strike Force / Islanders etc) which two teams consistently had the best matches with each other?


Same question, but for late 80s NWA (Andersons / Road Warriors / RocknRoll / Doom / Steiners etc)?

Harts v. Bulldogs by a landslide for the first one.  
For the second one, you're kind of mixing eras there, but the Rock N Roll Express worked a bunch with various combinations of Horsemen and it was usually pretty good.  But Rock N Roll v. Midnights is the real answer. 

AEW shows other than Dynamite

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Top of the morning,


Should I be watching anything other than Dynamite?? It's probably my favorite show right now but with a big return coming for the AEW Rampage debut, should I be watching Dark and Elevation? 
Sure, if you're a masochistic idiot with three extra hours that loves squash matches….um, sorry, I meant, sure if you're a valued contributor to the blog and a great guy! 
Whew.  Pulled it off.  

Holy crap, my ending made Botchamania!!!

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Hey Scott, it's long-time regular Bonzai, and I'm not gonna bury the lede, MY ENDING MADE BOTCHAMANIA 438!!!! (I only just found out because I was a few days late in watching it, JEEEEEZUS)

I'm a professional video editor by trade and I made this mashup of John Wayne and Stone Cold a few months ago for the fun of it, and decided last week to, what the hell, send it to Maffew for consideration, and FIRST TRY, I GOT IN! So I just wanted to put out my public thanks to Maffew for making this windjammer's dream come true, so much so that I don't give a crap my Twitter handle is completely wrong in the description!

Here is the original video, and it can be seen at 15:22 in Botchamania 438. THE BOYHOOD DREAM HAS COME TRUE

That must make Maffew feel pretty old then. 

Building momentum post COVID

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Do you think WWE Impact and AEW will be able to build off this upswing demand for live entertainment or are you taking bets for when each company blows this opportunity?

If another lockdown does occur in less than a year, ultimately what do you think the ramifications of such a thing would be? 

Also, what is up with money pic icon for the website and your email?

Stay safe.

Both companies are already super-hot at this point in ticket sales, WWE thanks to John Cena and AEW thanks to everything else, so they're both doing a great job of cashing in while the iron is hot.  The test for WWE will come once Cena leaves against after Summerslam, though.  

If another lockdown happens I guess they'll run all of their shows out of Florida or Texas.

The money picture is referencing a famous meltdown from a former blog poster where he declared I was “leaving money on the table” by not bringing him back and it became a meme for a good long while. 

Talent contracts

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Scott,

With Khan’s cost cutting, why do you suppose he hasn’t made an effort to end the “talent” contracts of such “Superstars” as Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, or Triple H? I recall how they are all signed to fat deals seperate from their executive salaries (but far more than many other wrestler salaries)

Or so you suppose he’s been told that they are essential employees and definitely cannot be cut? I just think it would be funny if WWE released a statement announcing they were releasing any of them from their talent contracts…


I know it's a facetious question but it's actually a pretty sensible thing that Nick Khan could do in order to free up more salary money.  There's really no valid reason for them to have seperate talent contracts at this point.  

Horsemen on AEW

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With Flair a free man now is there anything stopping AEW doing a Horsemen reunion (copyrights and the like?).


You could have Flair, Arn, Tully and Malenko be interviewed in the ring by Tony. The Rhodes' come down to make nice with Flair, Sting comes down to do likewise, and then The Pinnacle spoil things by storming the ring and jumping everybody (save for Tully, who
was in on the thing the whole time). That way, you get the reunion on Dynamite, and the setup for some fresh feuds (MJF/Wardlow vs Darby/Sting,  FTR with Tully vs The Rhodes Brothers with Arn).

WWE 100% guaranteed owns the Four Horsemen trademark and everything associated with it, and I'm betting that's why they got put into the Hall of Fame as a unit, so that legally WWE could demonstrate continued usage of the trademarks.

So it seems WWE aka Vince is Baiting AEW

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Not necessarily Andrade and Black but the Wyatt and Flair bloodletting and maybe the Cole expiration which they have forgotten about taking care of resigning.  They have a new show and IMO a decently streamed roster with many up and coming young guys. What do you do in Tony Kahn's place? Understanding relationships between EVP  to the talent and other relationships to people like Flair.  Can they afford these and should they sign them in your opinion?

Cole, yes.  Bray, maybe?  I don't know how well he'd fit in, but they could make a shitload off merch with him.  Flair, no.  Maybe for a one-night deal where the Horsemen reunite or something, but they don't need him and he offers nothing of value at this point when they already have Sting and Arn.  

Crockett Cup ’87

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Hi Scott, long time reader here. Just re-read your Crockett Cup '87 rant, and while it is hilarious, it's also a show you haven't reviewed in quite a while. Any chance for a re-rant? 

While I don't object to the idea, it's not currently on the WWE Network in any form, and the version I've got is the heavily-edited home video cut.  My hope is that someday they release the full show on the Network like they did with 86, but until then I doubt I'll do it again.  

Summerslam countdown?

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Hey Scott, 


I love reading your Summerslam rants, especially the recently redone ones from the 90s the last few years. As we head toward this year's show I've been digging through the archives, and unless I'm overlooking them, it looks like you've never ranted on the 2007,
2011 and 2012 shows. 


Also, it's been 20+ years since you've revisted 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001. 


It's been 15+ years since you've checked out 2002, 2003, 2004 or 2005. Everything since 2006 otherwise is pretty new.


Thought it might be fun to complete the series, or maybe even revisit some you haven't seen in awhile as we approach this year's card. Thanks and keep up the great work!

2011 is a definite possibility for obvious reasons.  1995 will actually be coming up next week in a very different form, so stay tuned!  And yeah, the Attitude Era trilogy are also a definite possibility for redo.  

Aftermath of Bray’s Release

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Scott,

Bray being released led me to 2 thoughts:

1) Mickie James has to realize she’s not the only person in the world that’s been fired. I know she’s a fan of burning bridges, but at this point time to build a bridge (metaphorically speaking) and get over it.

I feel like your employer sending your stuff in a literal garbage bag would be hard to get over. 

2) If AEW picks up Wyatt, is it possible for the homegrown stars there to flee to WWE eventually when the roster is just too big for them?

Basically, if there’s not enough spots for those that didn’t get to build up huge names over the years in WWE.

That's how wrestling has traditionally worked in the decades before Vince had a monopoly, yes. 

To Cole or not to Cole

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Hey Scott,


Longtime reader, first time emailer (also I'm really enjoying the lucha underground rants, please keep them coming). 


With news breaking today that Adam Cole's contract may be coming up this month what do you think would be the best option for him?  Stick it out in NXT, maybe take a shot on the main roster, or make a break for AEW? 


From the other side of things, is it worth it to WWE to put up a decent offer to keep him?  With AEW's roster getting more and more stacked by the day would Adam Cole bring anything to their already crowded table or get lost in the shuffle? 


Hope the vacations going well.  Thanks!

Well it's only been one day but no one's died yet so that's a positive for the wrestling business.  
As for Cole, he should 100% go to AEW.  There's nothing for him on the main roster in WWE and he's already gone round and round on NXT as much as he possibly can.  Although if the rumors that he's been without a contract are true, then they're STUPID for putting him over Bronson Reed last week.  But I think either way WWE has gotten everything they can out of him given where they see him, so there's no point in hanging onto him. 

Khanned!

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Are we sure that Nick Khan is not related to Tony Khan? This is really starting to feel like an inside job. 


There were plenty of times over the Undertaker's 30 year career with the WWE that they didn't have anything for him. But they just let him rest and waited till something came up. Imagine if in 1995 or 2002 they were just like “Eh, kind have run through all we can with this Undertaker character. He's too expensive. Let's save some money and let him go.” 

I don't know. Something seems fishy to me. They can't afford Braun or Bray but they can afford Baron Corbin? 
To be fair, Baron Corbin is obviously working for cheap these days. 

Autumn of Punk

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So it seems like the clear cut plan right now is Punk v.s. Darby Allin. How is this going to work out though? Is Punk really going to come in after a 7 year absence and immediately start putting over a younger talent? The last we saw him, his UFC fight was so atrociously bad he actually holds a UFC record. As far as I know, there's never been in a instance in UFC history where the winner and loser of the fight both got fired. Punk lost to someone who competed part-time in MMA and THAT guy got fired for not beating a horrible fighter fast enough. 


So now Punk, who obviously controls his fate with a scripted match, is going to come right back and lose to a guy who weighs 150 pounds? Or do you think he's now in Jericho territory and doesn't care as long as the fat check cashes? I mean Jericho has always had the most self-awareness of anyone in the history of the business. However, that doesn't seem to be the case so much anymore to agree to do the death match last week.

Who am I kidding? If I could get millions to have a completely untalented, scumbag meth addict take a pizza slicer to my head on national television, I'd do it in a second. Shiny new red Lamborghini…thanks Papa Khan for giving Tony his inheritance early!
I know people are going to freak, but I think Punk should go over Darby if that's the first program, because the money is going to be in Punk challenging Omega for the title and then putting HIM over.  The bigger they can make Omega, the bigger that it'll make Hangman when they finally get around to changing the title. 

Raw 98

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Hi Scott enjoyed the 2011 Raw review. Just wondered if you’d considered going back and doing the 98 Raws? There are some sporadic ones that you’ve done, but a fair chunk are missing and it’s a pretty sweet spot for the audience on the blog I’d have thought.

If nothing else the shows are fast paced and certainly not boring. Unlike the 3 hour Nitro’s I tried to get you to review the other month!

Cheers

Yeah I don't mind reviewing the old 98 shows.  I'm just not often in the specific mood to do them because I like reviewing stuff that I don't already have memorized, like the old territory shows or completely new stuff.  But absolutely I can throw that on the pile this week, since I'm on vacation anyway. 

It’s still Hangman/Omega at All Out

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Why is everyone losing their minds about Hangman getting cheated on Dynamite? They sold 10,000 tickets to All Out in about 8 seconds because they did the Hangman/Omega staredown. Why doesn't anyone realize thats still the main event?


The reason I ask is they did the *exact* same fake out with Moxley/Omega about six weeks out from Revolution. If AEW has a “trope” for PPVs, it's teasing the big main event, faking in another direction, and ending up back there. Ditto for Double or Nothing with the Inner Circle/Pinnacle headlining after they did Blood & Guts on TV.

I guess I should tip my cap to Tony Khan & company for working smarts into a frenzy, but I'm mostly confused. Has no one else been watching this company for the past 2 years? With the exception of the 1st Sting match tagging with Darby, they dont announce any PPV matches til the final push and I'm guessing they want to focus on Punk's arrival for the next 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, when Hangman wins the title at All Out, doesnt messing with the smarts for a few weeks make it even better? 

Ok bro.  Whatever you need to tell yourself.