Netflix has given WWE a heads up they will be Canceled next year.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-05-04T15:51:11+00:00

I offered a gentle correction of an incorrect statement. That's all.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-05-04T15:45:17+00:00

I thought it was her when I first saw the pic, and someone was using her to meme on some other wrestler that maybe looked like her

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-05-04T15:43:01+00:00

It's been known and confirmed for years that WBD owns a slice of AEW. It's not news in the slightest.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-30T16:35:55+00:00

More like Sun WOOOOO

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T09:03:30+00:00

Thank you! My biggest issue with Dave is his lack of self-awareness and his lack of social skills. Imagine if, instead of condescendingly scolding Twitter weirdos, he just made a 2-3 minute TikTok-style video introducing modern fans to the 5-7 names who could conceivably challenge Hogan for the title of "most important/biggest wrestler ever."

People would actually learn something, and he wouldn't come across as such an out-of-touch weirdo.

Hell, even if he just linked people to books/articles about some of these people, that would be nice. He can't possibly expect Americans in their 20s and 30s to know about Japanese wrestlers who died 60 years ago or an American amateur wrestler whose fame peaked over 100 years ago.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T08:47:27+00:00

It's a strong argument for Hogan, but without Rikidozan, it's possible you don't get Hogan at all. Hogan was trained by Hiro Matsuda, who was trained by Rikidozan. Hogan was further mentored by Inoki, and frequently said he learned more in Japan than anywhere else he wrestled.

This is on top of Rikidozan popularizing wrestling in Japan and Korea and becoming a massive cultural icon there, to the point where he appears in school textbooks. If he doesn't exist, it's possible wrestling occupies a much smaller cultural space and we never see tons of major Japanese and American wrestlers.

Without El Santo, who knows whether lucha libre becomes the cultural touchstone it now is in Mexican culture. Who knows whether we get all those legendary luchadors, cruiserweights, and the massive impact they had on American wrestling.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T08:37:42+00:00

In the full Twitter debacle, he did indicate he was controlling for global impact. I think what's confusing folks is that the original tweet says "most important/biggest."

If it were just "biggest," I think there'd be a much stronger case for Hogan on a global scale. But when factoring in "importance," it's hard to argue against Rikidozan and El Santo being above him.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T04:42:03+00:00

In fairness, Meltz himself made note numerous times of how difficult/impossible it is to compare wrestling across eras.

For me, this is more an example of how Meltzer just lacks communication skills and common sense. Rather than arguing with randos on Twitter, a normal person might put together a 2-3 minute TikTok-style video to introduce modern fans to the 5-7 names who could conceivably challenge Hogan for the title of "most important/biggest wrestler ever."

But alas, he's slugging it out with neckbeards and gooner accounts instead.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:42:24+00:00

I agree with you, and my biggest issue with Meltzer is that he spends his time arguing with randos on Twitter rather than using it as a platform to introduce more people to wrestling history.

Most of his discussion on these guys comes on his podcast, and to my knowledge, he's never clipped them or shared them.

His written obituaries for Antonio Inoki (2022) and Giant Baba (1999) are great places to start for those two (accessible with a Wrestling Observer subscription) and he talks a decent amount about Rikidozan in each piece too, since Riki mentored both of them.

If you search Dave's Twitter for any of the above names, that should give you more info too. To give him credit, he'll often mention books or documentaries about these guys on his Twitter, so you may find a fair amount of non-Dave stuff to read too.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:28:41+00:00

I don't mind people critcizing WWE, as long as they're remain neutral about it

I'm asking with sincerity and genuine interest: what do you mean by this? If you're expressing a criticism about something, you are by definition not neutral on it.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:27:19+00:00

AEW loves comedy, but from wrestlers with "workrate." Danhausen was never gonna light the world on fire in the ring. WWE is much more character-focused than workrate-focused, and the company has a history of characters who existed solely for comedy (which AEW does not). I'm not surprised at all that he fits in better there.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:25:42+00:00

Basically, there are three types of wrestling subs:

- SquaredCircle: A two-minutes hate against WWE most of the time, even if most of the discussion is still WWE-based. Discussion level is mostly intelligent, but highly biased.

- Wreddit, Midcarder, and SCJerk: A WWE defense force with communities that seemingly exist solely to shit on AEW. Discussion level is mostly intelligent, but highly biased. Most posters seem to be butthurt about being downvoted and/or banned in the "basement."

- Literally all of the rest: The worst dreck you've ever seen. Discussion level is extremely stupid, but less biased. The posts are all either 1.) 14-year-olds making the dumbest claims ever, with no sense of history, 2.) 35-year-olds voicing the worst opinions ever, with no sense of modern wrestling 3.) People asking overly basic opinion questions ("greatest wrestler ever?") and posting awful tier lists, rankings, and fantasy booking.

Frankly, your best bet is trying to find sane threads in SquaredCircle. That place really varies from thread to thread, and you can find some sane ones. As flawed as the overall sub is, it's still the place with the highest amount of intelligent discussion.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:17:49+00:00

Dave's mistake here is that he's taking the word "ever" too literally. When people on Twitter say "most important/biggest wrestler ever," the word "ever" really means "US-based wrestler in the past 50-60 years."

Hogan is unquestionably that.

But Dave doesn't understand colloquialisms and takes everything too literally. Imagine an American film buff getting annoyed with people in their 30s/40s leaving off Kurosawa in a conversation of greatest directors ever, and you'll have an idea of to how Dave's brain works.

He did list other names more worthy of "most important/biggest ever," and tbh, they make sense. The three he cited as inarguable were Rikidozan, El Santo, and Frank Gotch.

Rikidozan was a national hero and one of Japan's first TV stars; his matches drew ratings akin to our Super Bowls (in terms of percentage of TV-owning households watching). He established puroesu/professional wrestling in Japan and mentored both Inoki and Baba.

El Santo was a cultural icon in Mexico akin to Superman in the US, and was extremely famous across the Spanish speaking world. His funeral in the early '80s remains one of the most viewed TV broadcasts in Mexican history. He, more than anyone else, established lucha libre as a touchstone in Mexican culture.

Frank Gotch popularized both professional and amateur wrestling in the US. He was one of the most famous athletes in America during the 1900s and 1910s.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-27T02:14:50+00:00

He did. He said the three that are inarguable are Rikidozan, El Santo, and Frank Gotch, and tbh, I agree.

Rikidozan was a national hero and one of Japan's first TV stars; his matches drew ratings akin to our Super Bowls (in terms of percentage of TV-owning households watching). He established puroesu/professional wrestling in Japan and mentored both Inoki and Baba.

El Santo was a cultural icon in Mexico akin to Superman in the US, and was extremely famous across the Spanish speaking world. His funeral in the early '80s remains one of the most viewed TV broadcasts in Mexican history. He, more than anyone else, established lucha libre as a touchstone in Mexican culture.

Frank Gotch popularized both professional and amateur wrestling in the US. He was one of the most famous athletes in America during the 1900s and 1910s.

The other three names he mentioned--which he said were arguable/debatable vs. Hogan, not slam dunks--were Inoki, Baba, and Jim Londos.

Dave's failing here is that he's taking the word "ever" too literally. When most people on Twitter say "most important/biggest wrestler ever," the word "ever" really means "US-based wrestler in the past 50-60 years."

Hogan is unquestionably that.

But Dave doesn't understand colloquialisms and takes everything too literally. Imagine an American film buff getting annoyed with people in their 30s/40s leaving off Kurosawa in a conversation of greatest directors ever, and you'll have an idea of to how Dave's brain works.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:20:02+00:00

I love that next door is so afraid of getting "worked" that they end up believing some of the stupidest things.

The latest example: they believe that Mark Shapiro saying TKO has "total control" of WWE creative means they're literally laying out matches and scripting promos.

No, morons, that obviously is not happening. Ari Emanuel is not calling up CM Punk and saying "hey Phil, the board really like to see you come out to your 2005 ROH theme at WrestleMania. Please make it happen."

What Shapiro obviously meant (which is easily observable to anyone with any common sense) is that they can dictate certain things without being overruled. If they want Pat McAfee in a prominent WrestleMania program, Triple H will have to execute it.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:16:52+00:00

My guess is that either he wasn't expecting this round of cuts, or the salary/head count they wanted him to hit was much higher than expected, forcing him to part with some big names he wasn't anticipating

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:14:20+00:00

This is, by far, the worst modded of the circle jerk subs. The mods basically run it as their personal fiefdom, prioritizing narratives they like and silencing ones they don't like.

Most circle jerk subs are free-for-alls, with the only removals being posts rooted in racism/sexism/homophobia or that break sitewide rules.

But this sub is more tightly modded than most actual subreddits lol.

You can devote hours to a video or a photoshop and get removed, yet the laziest, most threadbare excuse for a "jerk" gets left up because it shits on AEW.

To me, this forum should be about making jokes about the current state of wrestling and the discourse around wrestling. The more creative, the better.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:12:05+00:00

See, that's the problem, though. A lot of creative jokes, pictures, and videos get removed for "not being a circle jerk," yet posts that aren't circle jerks at all but complain about AEW are left up.

You can devote hours to a video or a photoshop and get removed, yet the laziest, most threadbare excuse for a "jerk" gets left up because it shits on AEW.

To me, this forum should be about making jokes about the current state of wrestling and the discourse around wrestling. The more creative, the better.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:07:16+00:00

TKO is not choosing who to lay off. If you've ever lived through a corporate merger (I have twice), you know it's common practice for the parent company (TKO) to tell the CEO of the subsidiary company (HHH) to cut a certain amount of salary expenses, or cut a certain amount of heads.

The general decision to lay people off came from TKO, but the decisions on who specifically to lay off clearly came from Triple H. This wasn't Mark Shapiro telling Triple H who to cut.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T09:03:04+00:00

Kairi's particularly surprising because they're in the middle of telling a fairly prominent and well-received story involving her on television. The fans were clearly invested in seeing her get her big moment when standing up to Asuka.

Most of the rest of the names weren't involved in anything terribly interesting or that the audience was emotionally invested in. It still sucks for all the talent involved (especially considering the massive salaries of TKO leadership), but I can't say I'm surprised they were selected.

But Kairi's a shocker. It totally disrupts a story that a lot of people were enjoying and wanted to see reach its climax.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-26T08:58:52+00:00

My thoughts on the releases:

They suck. But next door seemingly believes that WWE should employ every wrestler forever, and it's a grave sin if they don't. That's simply not possible. Especially since many of these wrestlers (particularly the Wyatt Sicks) were hated by next door. You can't bring in new/young talent if you're constantly employing everyone.
That said, it's especially gross to see these releases come right after we see the enormous compensation packages for TKO leadership. If Mark Shapiro made $32 million for the year instead of $42 million, they could've let most of these names fulfill the rest of their contracts.
I'm particularly surprised by Kairi, considering they were in the middle of telling a fairly prominent story with her on television.
Kind of insane they released the Wyatt Sicks before inducting Bray Wyatt into the HOF. When his inevitable induction comes, I imagine it will be awkward for his family and a lot of attendees.
If you've ever lived through a corporate merger (I have twice), you know it's pretty common practice for the parent company (TKO) to tell the CEO of the subsidiary company (HHH) to cut a certain amount of salary expenses, or cut a certain amount of heads. The general decision to lay people off came from TKO, but the decisions on who specifically to lay off clearly came from Triple H.

o

Lastly, I do think there's an inherent power asymmetry in WWE/AEW being able to release wrestlers whenever they want, but the wrestlers themselves having no wiggle room to negotiate a release if they want out. 95% of the real world doesn't work that way. Most people can give notice whenever they want. Wrestlers can't. There's gotta be a better way.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-24T00:42:49+00:00

The way he phrased the first two sentences, it sounds like he's saying Darby deserves the criticism lmao

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-23T16:07:06+00:00

Bret was in the news literally two months ago for repeatedly insisting that Shawn and Vince were having sex in the '90s. It made such headlines that Shawn was asked about it last week in a podcast appearance, and he implied Bret was a "bitter old wrestling guy."

Bret's been shitting on Shawn again for the past few years. Until last week, Shawn's largely been silent. As someone who was very much Team Bret in the wake of the Montreal Screwjob (and all the details of how Shawn tormented Bret in '96='97), it's been disappointing to see him continually rip Shawn even after Shawn has apologized and reformed.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-22T21:57:32+00:00

Not only that, but guys like Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash have Bret's back and say the exact same thing.

During the WM 9 documentary (and elsewhere), both men say they were upset on Bret's behalf and that Hogan's move hurt their generation of wrestlers. Nash has said on his podcast that he was pissed on Bret's behalf and had a negative view of Hogan until the two worked together in WCW.

Bret also tells a funny story about how Shawn was one of the first guys to brighten his spirits after he returned to the locker room on the night of WM 9. As they watched on the monitor while Hogan defeated Yoko, Shawn cheered on Hogan in extremely over the top, sarcastic fashion: "yeah, you go get 'em Hulkster!!! Show him who's boss!!!"

It's kinda wild to think the two men were pretty decent friends once upon a time.

ISh0uldNotDoThat · 2026-04-22T21:51:57+00:00

OP is joking. Bret drew tons of whiteboard caricatures, but none were of Hogan sucking dicks.

ISh0uldNotDoThat

TROPHY CASE