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What do you make of Gail Kim ripping on modern day wrestling?
I had no idea what the context of the question was, so I had to go digging on Twitter to figure it out. Kim stated that, when seeing a clip of two wrestler no selling a bunch of spots on an ROH show, that she didn't like what pro wrestling had become. So, what do I make of her comments? Nothing. She has every right to her opinion and in some ways, she would be right. I wrote an article a few weeks back about things that need to be fixed to make pro wrestling better and this is along those lines. I think the product in the ring has changed, for most major matches, into 100,000 spots and near falls and kicking out of those spots. That endears talents who are great athletes to a certain subset of today's fans, but I would agree with Kim in that I don't personally believe that should be all pro wrestling is inside the ring.
A few decades ago, everyone had a different style based on their promotion - All Japan, WWF, ECW, WCW, whatever, but it's very much one style in the ring now and if you are seeking talents to tell old school stories with their bodies, it doesn't really exist anymore in that vein. It's more like watching a videogame where people are mashing up moves. Again, Kim has accomplished a lot and has every right to her opinion. Now, what she commented on doesn't mean she meant everything about wrestling is bad, just that she feels that way about the aspect of pro wrestling shown in that tweet. All that said, If someone doesn't agree with her, that doesn't mean she's wrong. I think a lot of this has to do with what different generations believe pro wrestling should be, and in many cases, it depends on what you were exposed to. There are people who, for example, grew up loving the Michael Keaton version of Batman, but that version pales in comparison to those who loved Adam West's version or Christian Bale's version. No one is wrong. It's all subjective.
I do think that Kim's point is more about how far pro wrestling has veered from where it once was, and there's ZERO denying that is the case.
I read online everyone is getting hazard pay for Saudi Arabia? Is that true?
It may be. I know there was a $2,500 bonus for those who staffed the last Saudi show as a thank you, so it stands to reason there may be another one this weekend. I haven't personally heard that, though.
Given the state of the region, how are you going to get Vladimir the Superfan to the Wrestlemania show next year?
We will not be going. The plan is to take Vladimir to the watch parties they will have at MSG, so he can watch the AAA and NXT shows live.
Seeing how many AI videos are on social media with celebrities and movie characters, how long until WWE is producing their own Fantasy matches like Hulk Hogan vs, Bruno Sammartino or Andre the Giant vs. Oba Femi for online consumption?
I think we'll absolutely see this within the next decade (if not sooner), presented as sort of a "Fantasy Warfare" deal similar to Marvel's What If? series. As long as WWE has the rights to the characters (or gets their estates to sign off), I could see them presenting such content and perhaps even doing a fan vote to determine "who wins."
Does Josh Bishop win the MLW title this weekend?
I think he's ready. I'd go with him and give him some experience on top. I'd be shocked if AEW or WWE didn't come calling for him sooner than later, so perhaps MLW can treat him like ECW treated Chris Jericho, with the idea that this will be the place where he first made history and won his first major title. We will see.
What's the one thing you'd like to see WWE do with their archive?
Since so many, if not all, of the items are one of a kind, I'd like to see them move to more a museum like protective environment as opposed to a warehouse. I don't know whether the company would invest that money into the archive, but I wish they would.
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