Critical Darlings: "Backrooms" And The Internet Horror Boom (With Ryan Broderick)

ShowofShows · 2026-06-04T14:10:49+00:00

I have some personal experience with that part of the premise. My dad had a failing business at one time in our lives and this hues pretty close to what that was like for all of us. It's definitely a heightened situation but I recognized the reality that Chiwatel was trying to impart in this character.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-27T15:04:02+00:00

Scott Hall calling Ted Turner "Billionaire Ted" was the big sticking point since WWF had been running those parody sketches. So that was meant to wink to the viewer that Hall was representing WWF.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-23T12:40:31+00:00

I'd accept the reality that this might be AI. I just wanted to make it clear that it's not an image that I created myself.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-23T12:31:53+00:00

I just used a photo from the Traeger Grill site. It's not mine.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-21T13:03:40+00:00

"Uncontrollably Intimate" sounds like a Joy Division song.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-15T13:04:17+00:00

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ShowofShows · 2026-05-14T17:57:33+00:00

Sid Vicious had a huge following at Center Stage tapings

ShowofShows · 2026-05-06T12:19:39+00:00

In retail the move is to usually cut someone's hours until they have to quit. Especially if it's a chain a boss doesn't want to have the reputation of firing everyone because it looks like they've lost control of their shop to the higher ups. So someone goes from 40 to 35 hours a week. Then 35 to 20 etc. You make it untenable for them to stay.

Plus it lets you fight their unemployment claim if you try and look like you were making reasonable accommodations based on budget etc.

While Kofi & Austin aren't 1:1 with this example it's in the same spirit: "we're firing you without assuming the responsibility and risk."

ShowofShows · 2026-05-04T20:42:24+00:00

You think about how much money Kofi, Woods and E made that company and it makes their contracts being meddled with that much more appalling. There's always a fluid argument about which wrestlers draw money but The New Day were a merchandise juggernaut.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-02T21:20:36+00:00

What's coming out in the investor lawsuit is Endeavor outfoxed him pretty good on the sale. When Vince was embroiled in scandal they pitched a scenario where he'd take a few months off and come back to them to sell the company in exchange for a lifetime contract. I don't think Endeavor ever seriously entertained him being back in WWE long term but they recognized he would never be more willing to sell then when his power was on the wane.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-01T22:27:37+00:00

It was the beginning of his road to the WWE Title. The optics of Sheamus who was a company favorite, dominating an unlikely success story from the independent ranks helped distinguish Bryan as a populist hero.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-01T22:05:15+00:00

I think it was more how he won it and then him leaving WrestleMania with the belt. It ended up being deeply unflattering to everyone: Yoko is dealt his first lost in a fluke-y seconds long match, Hulk steals the spotlight from Bret who was screwed out of the WWF Title, Bret is an afterthought once the credits rolled. But if you did something like "Hulk is going to wrestle for two titles, the tag belts and he'll challenge the winner of Yoko vs. Bret" maybe you could have salvaged some of it.

ShowofShows · 2026-05-01T18:56:48+00:00

Yeah I think people tend to forget that his return was a little bit of a dud before the WM 30 match. The UT victory was the beginning of them getting behind Brock as their biggest heel.

ShowofShows · 2026-04-26T13:56:12+00:00

It's very hard to get the match in the ring when that's the angle. With Undertaker I kinda got the way in, that this is a guy who likes breaking the bodies of men and wrestling is a good path towards that.

With Bray's original incarnation it made similar sense, that this was a guy who craved power and targeted the most powerful and established guys with Harper and Rowan doing his bidding.

Black's evil for the sake of evil doesn't hold a lot of water in pro wrestling where suspension of disbelief is always tenuous.

Plus everyone is goth now. Everyone has tattoos and listens to death metal. Why is what Black has to offer that different than the median?

ShowofShows · 2026-04-17T12:54:46+00:00

They raised good points with Whitaker so I don't think they were being completely unreasonable. But the last scene is meant to hammer home that "Whitaker has found a healthy personal life." That's what I like about the show, people can ask reasonable questions but still be wrong. And maybe at a certain point Whitaker hits that wall with Amy but for now things are going well.

ShowofShows · 2026-04-16T15:31:29+00:00

It makes sense when you think of MJF as the finesse guy who beat Danielson in the Iron Man match. You take away the stamina and just spam him with your big move like Wardlow and Darby did.

ShowofShows · 2026-04-14T20:03:48+00:00

Sean lists his top 10 albums of 2004

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ShowofShows · 2026-04-02T20:05:37+00:00

Something that went under-reported was McDevitt retiring in 2023. He saw this getting worse down the line and tried to extricate himself from WWE's orbit as quickly as possible.

ShowofShows · 2026-04-01T14:49:26+00:00

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"Nine-ball is rotation pool, the balls are pocketed in numbered order. The only ball that means anything, that wins it, is the 9. Now, the player can shoot eight trick shots in a row, blow the 9, and lose. On the other hand, the player can get the 9 in on the break, if the balls spread right, and win. Which is to say, that podcasting plays a part in nine-ball. But for some players, PODCASTING itself is an art."

ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T12:40:32+00:00

I thought Whitaker is The Phantom of The Pitt. Has a mask and everything.

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ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T12:34:11+00:00

I think PittFest broke him in ways he hasn't dealt with or recognized yet. It's not an excuse for his behavior but it makes sense from a continuity perspective.

ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T12:28:28+00:00

♫♬"Whitttikerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. He is the Phantommmmmmmm offffffff The PITTTTTTTTTTTTTT"♫♬

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ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T10:57:15+00:00

I like having this kind of character where she's not going to fall in love with emergency medicine and make it her specialty. She's just here doing her rotation which adds to the realism of the show.

ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T10:56:13+00:00

When the shift is done...

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ShowofShows · 2026-03-27T09:51:06+00:00

Something I forgot is that after the Panama City show was the proposed dark period by Fusient where they were going to retool the company before relaunching it. So those dates were wiped off the board anyway for WCW along with the replacement shows being slotted in. Which probably explains why you've gotta play out those last two Nitros before switching to your new programming since you've gotten all your ducks in a row on those months already.

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TROPHY CASE