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SAMOA JOE, TONY KHAN VS. SCOTT D'AMORE AT REBELLION, VLADIMIR VS. RINGSIDE CHARLIE, CENA NEVER COMING BACK? AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2021-04-16 10:00:00

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Is Samoa Joe cleared to wrestle?  If so, how do you release him?

He hadn't returned to the ring in WWE that we have heard, but it's quite possible he was cleared and was closing up his announcing gig at Wrestlemania.  Joe has noted in media appearances he had a bad concussion issue.  I would think he and the company were being very smart to take the longer road towards getting him back in the ring.  I haven't heard anything that makes me think he wasn't ever returning, because if that's the case, why not keep him as an announcer, where he was obviously excelling in the role?  My gut is this was a decision by the company to cut some of their finances from the board before Quarter 1 of 2021 is publicly released on 4/22 and Joe was one of those trapped in the crossfire.  As I said on an audio yesterday, I can see the releases of Joe and the former IIconics being something that comes back to bite the company in the butt because I can't envision they won't have great, meaningful success elsewhere.  

Shouldn't the Ringside Charlie guy have been honored before Vladimir the Superfan?  I mean, he had the YouTube thing and was at every Wrestlemania.  It just seems silly they booked the other guy to be their Superfan champ or whatever.

I have no idea what criteria they used but I can assure you the documentary they did on Ringside Charlie had no bearing on whether they gave Vladimir an award or not.  I am just happy for each of them they were each spotlighted by the company.  It's special and uplifting and I think we can all use a big slice of uplifting after the last year we've all endured.

Do you think we've seen the last of John Cena in WWE?  I am legitimately shocked the company couldn't get something filmed to make it appear he was at Wrestlemania, either with an announcement or a hello or a vignette.  I really wonder if this past weekend was the beginning of the end for a guy who used to be so loyal to the company.

Your last line is silly to me.  He's not disloyal to WWE for working on other projects.  Like The Rock before him, Cena is a living, walking representation of what WWE is and his success elsewhere should be seen as a success for the company as they continue to try and integrate themselves into the Hollywood mainstream.  Cena made it clear, for weeks if not months, that he was filming Peacemaker for HBO Max in Canada and could not travel back to the United States for Wrestlemania in Florida, unless they were going to shut down the set and millions of dollars worth of time in terms of studio space, payroll, logistics, etc.  When you are number one on the call sheet, as they call it, everything cascades off of you on a Hollywood set.  There was no way, especially with the pandemic logistics and quarantine rules, that Cena could conceivably do it.  It's not like he wanted to choose missing his first Wrestlemania since 19.  He had no choice with the opportunity to star in his own TV series.  I don't think we've seen the last of John in the ring, but his full-time days are obviously long over.

I am watching Impact and I am wondering why Tony Khan is on TV if he has Jerry Lynn there representing the company?  I don't see Ed Nordholm, I see Scott D'Amore.  Is it a case of the him being starry-eyed and wanting to be on TV?

Ed Nordholm isn't a TV characters and I don't recall him ever being on TV, so I am not sure it's a fair comparison.  D'Amore has been on TV, so that makes sense.  Khan has been on Impact TV so it makes sense he would be there to rep the company.  I sure as hell hope he isn't being starry-eyed about being on TV, because in my mind, the second you are booking yourself to be a character, the ripple effect has never proven to be a positive one in the end.  Khan has stated he has no interest in doing that on Dynamite, but given the storyline here is the two promotions are working together, I get why the top reps from each company were featured.    There are more than enough talents who can be featured on AEW.  There is no need for Khan to be on beyond a moment where some sort of declaration needs to be made.

Do you think they are foreshadowing run-ins from the officials where they interfere?

Let's HOPE NOT.  If this all ends with Khan and D'Amore doing run-ins during the Kenny Omega vs. Rich Swann, I'd want to throw my remote through the TV.  We need less of arguing and fighting officials cutting promos with their talents, much less each other, in my opinion.  No one will want to pay to see Khan and D'Amore rolling around in the ring, in my opinion.  Don Callis is there to get heat for Omega.  That's the role he should be used for, not anyone else.

Where is Bronson Reed from?

Australia.

Did WWE really fire ten talents on the one year anniversary of firing a bunch of people due to the pandemic even though they made far more money from the Peacock deal and THEN issued a dividend that paid all of their stockholders, including their execs, a pretty penny?

Yeah, that's about right.

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