Mark Henry is back in the locker room to clean it up and cut the bullshit behavior.
If you get thrown off the bus by Mark Henry, they measure the distance.
Jimmy and Naomi weren’t traveling to a show when this happened, though, so having WWE provide transportation wouldn’t have made a difference.
Hey, thanks Sportsmaza.com. You allegedly list every WWE salary for 2019 and your list includes people who haven’t worked for the company since 2016 or earlier. Brilliant jerb.
Yeah, I think typical Smackdown schedule is house shows weekend through Monday, Smackdown Tues, then off a couple days.
Supposedly this may not derail their tag team match, as WWE is still paranoid about people walking out to AEW. Sounding like Jessie Ventura was wrong–wrestlers don’t need a union, all they needed was a sugar daddy/corporate boogyman.
WWE does this special dance where they treat wrestlers as independent contractors, not employees. It’s bullshit, but this may be (IANAL) one of those dance steps that helps WWE separate contractor from employee. I don’t think the designation would stand a strong court challenge, but it hasn’t faced one yet.
The next time Oos and Naomi do a mixed tag match, Rusev and Lana should dress as cops and carry tasers.
I’ve got SmackDown on the DVR and haven’t gotten around to watching it yet, but I love how they had Kofi go for more than an hour. I also like the underhanded, sleazy way that Orton won the match. It’s so in-character for him. That’s a great way to build heat. I hope someone kicks his ass at the Elimination Chamber.
EVOLVE 122 - Cabarrus Event Center, Concord NC, 2/16/2019
I had been meaning to go to a show here, but it’s a 2 hour plus drive. They’ve held RoH tapings here, so I might make one someday, but I came because of Adam Cole BAY BAY! Plus, I got my friend Tom to come, who lives near the venue. He’s seen a few wrestling shows in his life, so this was my opportunity to enlighen him with my smart markedness. I used Google Maps to find my way, and it had me go down Irish Potato road. That’s some back country driving there.
It was a nice little setup. They had the ring set up with may about 300 folding chairs set up, each with their seating number written on postits attached. Bet you can do with couch change budget I guess. We got there about 7:15, and there was already a long line for Adam Cole and the Street Prophets. Montez Ford eventually picked up a mic and started warming up the crowd. He’d rag on some audience members, then ask the sound guy for something to dance to. The sound guy started playing Limp Bizkit’s Nookie. When Fred Durst started his vocals, Ford said “Naw, naw, man. Don’t choose that. It’s starts off cool,. then the dude starts growling. URRR! URRRR! URRRR!”
I paid $20 to get my picture with Adam Cole. I shook his hand, told him "II hope you never get called up. You guys run NXT and that’s why it’s so successful. He said “Thanks, I really love it there” and shook my hand again. Really nice guy.
From what I understand, WWN is like the father of EVOLVE. It provides streaming and ondemand for indie feds like EVOLVE, Shine, and a couple others. So the ring equipment had the WWN logos, but the chyrons had EVOLVE graphics. The venue is the home of PWX wrestling, and we found out from a fan sitting next to us that they already had a show at 3, and some of their talent was working this show too. I wish I had known that. That wasn’t advertised.
1. Kurt Stallion vs Harlem Bravado
I think these were both PWX guys. Harlem seemed like the local hero. He resembles a young JBL. When he came out, we could see his chest had already bit lit up. He must have worked the earlier show. These guys were hitting each other HARD. It wasn’t just slaps we heard. Their hits sounded like bass drums. THUMP! At one point, Harlem was outside and Stallion did a Suicide Dive. Harlem stepped out of the way and Stallion’s face hit the railing. That looked genuinely painful. It wasn’t a “fake” hardware hit where the guy uses his hands in a pushing motion to suggest he hit the railing. It was mug to metal. The audience started yelling “Holy Shit!” Harlem brought Stallion back in the ring and got the pin. Excellent match. Harlem knew how to rally the crowd.
2. DJZ vs Josh Briggs
Remember DJZ from Impact? He came out wearing an LED light suit. Briggs was wearing some kind of shoulder holster. Somebody yelled “I like your sports bra!” I yelled “Do they make them for men?” Audience laughed. Briggs is kind of an Undertaker/Drew McEntyre mix. DJZ would attempt to land his high-flying maneuvers on Briggs, but the bigger man usually caught him or countered his moves with brute strength, like when he goozles DJZ right after he made his top rope attack dive. DJZ still got off some high-flying offense, and Briggs would get meaner and angrier whenever he fell victim. Briggs eventually gets the win with a chokeslam/lungblower.
- Fatal 4 Way - Slim J vs Leon Ruff vs Joe Gacy vs Colby Corino
Colby is the son of Steve Corino. He used to be a Young Boy in RoH, and frequently got beat up by the main eventers and took some sick bumps. I was looking forward to seeing him in action. Slim J wears a wife beater and camos. Joe Gacy is kind of like Killian Dane, the ugly guy who wants to make you uglier. His style is a lot like WIllie Mack from LU. Leon Ruff is the derivative of Lio Rush. Smallest in the ring, but agile like a monkey. Good match with a Superkick Party segment, of course. Colby got Ruff on hsi shoulders and ran tot he corner like a running power bomb, but at the last second turned it into a cannonball, with both guys somersaulting in the corner. Gacy got the pin on Ruff, and Colby didn’t interfere. I guess they’re part of a stable. From what I gather of the in-ring talk later, there had been a taping in Atlanta the night before, so I guess this was part of a storyline.
4. Shane Strickland vs AR Fox
Strickland used to be Killshot in LU. He was the arrogant heel who doesn’t like fun. AR used to be Dante Fox in LU, and his angle has changed big time. He used to be the cold-blooded assassin as Dante Fox, but he let his hair grow out, wears a bandanna, and has a posse like Adam Rose, referred to as “The Skulk.” The fan next to us said the Skulk were all PWX trainees. One of the Skulks modelled himself after Enzo Amore. He needed killing.
It was strange to see Fox as the fun guy babyface, considering the hard core matches in LU he worked. There was a nice series where Killshot was about to jump off the top rope onto Fox, but chose to jump on the assembled Skulk by him instead, knocking them down like bowling pins. Fox then climbed the corner and was about to jump on Killshot, but Killshot moved and Fox landed on the Skulks. This time however, they caught their beloved party master and held him up like Jesus Christ Superstar. Strickland, determined not to allow them to have fun, climbed back on the corner and jumped off to do a double-stomp on Fox’s chest, again bowling the Skulks over like tenpins. We hated the Skulks and cheered that move. I managed to catch Fox doing some kind of somersault plancha on a prone Killshot. As you can see, Fox’s body is a motion blur. Killshot eventually wins with the Skull Fucking Finale, and there was much wailing. I heard one of the Skulks say to another “It’s because you didn’t wear the red shirt!”
Intermission, more next post.
5. Effy Henry vs Austin Theory for the EVOLVE championship
It’s a peasant vs aristocrat match. Effy is a tattoed scrapper, the Rocky archetype who had to overcome a hard life to get where he is today. Theory is the Golden Child, the douchebag heel. He’s shredded with abs of steel. I yelled “Didn’t you used to be Austin Hypothesis?” That started a wave of physics chants around me. “Let’s go physics!” Much like the first match, these guys hit each other hard with bass drum thumps. It’s a pretty brutal match, and Theory’s nose leaked blood. Henry is good with the determined scowls, kind of like Mustafa Ali when he’s getting ready to fuck up his heel opponent after getting beat down. Theory eventually wins with the Spanish Fly Face Smash.
After the match, a chick who looks like Paige came to the ring and started yelling at Theory. I guess she used to be his manager. I started a “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” chant. Theory leaves in disgust, and Faux Paige follows him to the back.
6. Eddie Kingston vs Angelo Dawkins
Kingston is a lot like Kevin Owens, the fat asshole heel. He wears a shit that says " I hope you suffer." Some black dudes in the audience call Dawkins “D-Low Brown” and chant “We are the Nation of Domination!” Dawkins gets most of the offense on Kingston, like this suplex out-of-ring. The action then spills to the other side of the ring, where Kingston pulls a chair out from under the ring and smacks Dawkins with it for the DQ. Kingston continues to beat Dawkins with the chair. The referees shoo him away and help Dawkins stand. The Enzo wannabe from earlier comes out and helps Dawkins to the back as we yell “You can’t teach that!” This match wasn’t as good as the others. I’m still not impressed with Dawkins.
- Montez Ford vs JD Drake for the WWN title
I honestly think Ford is going to be the next John Cena. He’s got a good look, knows how to rally the crowd, and IMO needs to drop Dawkins and go solo. JD “Blue Collar Badass” Drake is a burly dude who looks like a cross between Arn Anderson and Samoa Joe. He’s surprisingly agile. His hits were sharp and loud, and he’s definitely main event level. The audience started chanting “Drake’s gonna kill you” and Ford mockingly joined in, lisping like a nerd. After Drake beat up Ford and Ford struggled to get up, Drake told him “You better call Aitch and tell him you won’t make it to work Monday!” They battled in the corner next to me, and I gota fewshots.
Ford got off a sweet looking Salina Del Sol off the top corner and follows up with a Swanton Bomb. Drake however eventually wins with a twisting neck breaker, and he and Ford shake hands. Suddenly the heel stable (Kingston, Gacy and Corino) ambushes the two of them. Kingston grabs the mic and delivers a promo, which I guess sets up a Drake vs Kingston match next EVOLVE taping. Killshot then runs in and attacks Ford. I guess they will pair off next taping as well.
8. Adam Cole BAY BAY vs Darby Allin
I was looking forward to seeing Allin in action, and he didn’t disappoint. He’s quick and takes a lot of bumps. Cole is obviously the star of the show and he got a huge pop when he made his entrance. He went into heel mode when Darby was down and kept telling him how worthless he was. This came off as more of a Ric Flair vs a jobber match. Flair will do his part to make the jobber look good, but everybody knows Flair will win. It didn’t look like a match between equals to me, as Cole largely dominated. Eventually, Darby has Cole down and goes outside the ring to set up a table. Cole however, turns the tables, so to speak. The table doesn’t get smashed, but don’t worry, it does later.
Cole wins with the Shining Wizard. Then, Austin Theory runs in and attacks Cole. He then look like he’s going to give Darby the same treatment, but the Crazy Ex Girlfriend ran in and superkicked Theory from behind. Then things got weird.
Effy sneaks in while Darby and Crazy Ex Girlfriend argue. He goes for a superkick on Darby, but Darby ducks and Crazy Ex Girlfriend gets kicked instead. Effy suddenly turns heel and beats up Darby. They battle outside the ring, and Effy gets the better of Darby and places him on the preset table. Then Effy climbs the cornerand gets off a sweet looking double-stomp on Darby and crushes the table. At that point, my battery went kaput, so no more pictures. I guess this is a way of setting up Darby vs Effy next taping, but Darby came off looking like the loser of the night.
All in all, I hope Ford gets called up, Dawkins stays in development limbo, and Cole continues to run NXT until the end of days. I can see Theory as NXT material, but it’s probably better to wait until Velveteen Dream leaves. I think WWE would want JD Drake to lose some midriff before they sign him up, but he’s otherwise definitely NXT material. Darby looked to be 150 lbs soaking wet, so they’d probably want him to add some muscle weight.
The other wrestlers had tables set up for merchandise & pics, but I got a purple EVOLVE hat instead. I got back home after 2 am. Guess I’ll watch Elimination Chamber in a few hours.
too bad they don’t make it down to la or around there ……id go if they did
oh heres a wwe “scandal” supposedly a wwe announcer had been a bad boy and got caught by his wife but its a bit weird ….Corey Graves' Wife Accuses Him of Sleeping With WWE Wrestler
All wrestlers are terrible people and you can’t convince me otherwise
Not hugely surprising. You’re traveling with these people constantly and as Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) said on the E&C podcast, sometimes you’re only home 36 hours a week. Corey himself has said that he spends the week in Connecticut and the Performance Center doing work and spends very little time at home. And when he does, his wife very quickly gets tired of him and wants him to leave again. Didn’t seem like the greatest relationship there.
Carmella? Hot body butter face.
Loved Elimination Chamber! It was joyous to see everyone rallying behind Kofi Kingston. I want him to win the WWE Title from Bryan at WrestleMania, darn it.
I know a lot of people hate the IIconics, but I love them. They squeal and squawk like chickens and provide the comedy element.
It looks like there will be a Kofi and New Day vs Bryan and the Bludgeons feud leading to WM. DB will complain about their pancakes making people fatter and more likely to fart and pollute the atmosphere with increased methane emissions.
Supposedly, Uso and Naomi wanted to get fired. Now the Usos are tag champs. It worked for the Revival. AEW must really be making Vince nervous.
I’m not sure what to make of Corey Graves. On the one hand, he’s an utter scumbag for cheating, then telling his wife to take the post down because they might get sued. On the other hand, backstage hookups are pretty common because these men and women work and tour together and display their nearly nekkid bodies to each other. Jeff Jarrett got Kurt Angle’s wife, Matt Hardy lost Lita to Edge, Paige filmed herself fucking Xavier Woods, and Seth Rollins had the Nazi ex-girlfriend.
Carmella was so much hotter when she first came to NXT. Now she’s gotten a bunch of work done on her face and she looks terrible. She was also always hotter in person than on TV.
My facebook group says this same thing and I don’t buy it at all. Call me ignorant or a hater or whatever, but I don’t think the WWE gives two shits about AEW and I highly doubt what’s happened recently has anything to do with them. I think Revival got the belts because Trips believe in them and Vince finally relented and if the Usos want out then they’re the stupidest wrestlers on the planet. They have had nothing but HUGE pushes and been champs for the better part of the last decade and will not get half of that anywhere else.
Like I said, I could easily be wrong (in fact, I often am about anything I believe) but it’s not like indie promotions haven’t been a thing in the past and it’s not like AEW is guaranteed to do any better than ROH, Japan, TNA or any of them. Sure there’s hype, but all I’m seeing right now is a lot of smoke and no fire
I see your point STC, but Vince went through this before when so many of his stars left for WCW.
Ultimately, he won that battle, but this time he’s got Fox potentially losing stars they were banking on having. He probably wants to wait till everything’s a go before he starts releasing the dross.
yeah but wcw were doing something that bot many did and that was offering “guaranteed money” NFL style ….where you were paid a certain amount for the contract or for a certain period of the contract (yearly) even if you never set foot in the ring or were injured 3 weeks in you still got that set amount
maybe some superstars like hart or Hogan got something like that but wcw did it for everyone of course it showed in the workrate eventually the "I don’t give a damn if I look good bad or indifferent im getting paid anyhow "attitude sunk in
I don’t see this aew doing this ……
I was under the impression that everyone had guaranteed money these days. That it was one of those things, once you let the genie out of the bottle…
Is that not the case?
only in the established feds wwe impact and maybe roh ///and I don’t know about japans payment system
I dont see something brand new being able to do that for 4 or 5 years at least unless some rich dude needs a tax write off ……
OK, I’ll just mention this one last bit o drama… Graves and his wife are actually about to divorce. Graves hooked up with Carmella several months after he moved out. I’m sure it pissed off his soon-to-be-ex that he had rebound sex, but now he’s less of a scumbag. 
I wouldn’t think the Jags owner would be as generous with his money to AEW as Ted Turner was with WCW, but Indie stars today make a load more money than they did back in the 90’s. Plus, AEW will be run by wrestlers, not corporate suits like when AOL/TW bought out Turner. AEW might not have as many amenities as WWE, but they’ll offer at least as much as Indie pay to be attractive.