$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 14, 2008 16:33:28 GMT -5
And, in what is considered a mild surprise, Lance Cade is gone. Obviously his link to Jericho went nowhere. Cade is a decent worker but blah on the charisma scale, no doubt. And today WWE wished him well on his future endeavors.
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Post by Ms. Jericho on Oct 14, 2008 20:17:23 GMT -5
He was boring and Jericho didn't need him. Him hanging around Jericho kinda made me mad. I'm glad he's gone. Glad I tell you!!
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Post by thecaptain15 on Oct 15, 2008 7:09:44 GMT -5
Kind of surprising to me. I would have thought they would have "written him out" somehow first but I guess WWE does things like this all the time (just droping or changing things without any explanation in the storyline)....
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 15, 2008 7:51:31 GMT -5
I think its almost where most won't notice. It was a such a nothing happening addition to an act, sticking him with Jericho. I thought - and was almost hoping - for a boost. He had a good match recently with Michaels. But nothing really from him. I actually thought the most potential he had was early in the Cade / Murdoch days, when he was playing a "modern-day" cowboy, dressed in stylish western-wear and hanging with the throwback Murdoch.
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Post by thecaptain15 on Oct 15, 2008 9:27:10 GMT -5
Oh I agree it is almost a nothing I just hate when they do it....
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 15, 2008 21:44:54 GMT -5
I had heard rumblings of this here and there, but JR pretty much confirmed it in his blog....Cade was sent on his way due to druggery.
From JR's blog:
As many of you know, Lance Cade was abruptly released from his contract this week much to the surprise of many of us. I have always thought that Cade had a wealth of physical potential and he was always a polite young man in my dealings with him. Like many fans, I too did my share of arm chair quarterbacking as to why Cade was not featured in a more prominent role on WWE TV programming. However it seemed that in the past several weeks those issues were being addressed even to the point of Cade defeating HBK on a recent Monday Night Raw.
The story that I have read on many internet sites about the reason for Cade's sudden dismissal isn't accurate. Many pundits speculate that Cade was dismissed because of a bad performance in a recent TV bout against DX on Raw which is absolutely untrue. Lance's dismissal had zero to do with his in ring performances or his lack of ability.
Lance Cade was dismissed from the WWE because, like many humans, he made a major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment that cost him his job. This included Lance having a seizure on an airplane and having to have emergency medial care. Luckily, Lilian Garcia was on the same flight and was instrumental in helping Lance get taken to a hospital where a battery of tests were run that luckily determined that there was nothing seriously wrong with the young man such as a brain tumor, etc.
Everyone makes mistakes, Lord knows I have made plenty in my career, but in this day and time some mistakes just simply can't be condoned. To some fans, Lance Cade will likely still be perceived as the victim in this matter and his punishment too harsh.
Under the circumstances of the situation, I don't know what other decision the WWE could have made. I'm just relieved that it wasn't me in my former role that would have had to address this matter. I really like this kid and hope that he continues to follow his dreams. Second chances are not foreign in the wrestling business so perhaps that could be in Lance's future but that's just a personal observation. Lance Cade is a talented young man whose best days should be ahead of him and I wish him nothing but success. Lance has been knocked down and now it is up to him to get off the canvas and get back in the game. I'm damn sure pulling for him.
Let's hope Lance's peers are paying attention to this situation.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 7, 2008 18:11:12 GMT -5
So the latest to get jettisoned were Paul London, and Chuck Palumbo (or, as Emma called him, Chuck Columbo)
Im down on both, but life goes on. London got jerked, his buddy Kendrick gets a nice boost and London sits it out. If anything, I would have liked to see those two go at it. As to Palumbo, I have been a fan for a while (outside of the Billy & Chuck stuff) ....I know, that makes no sense. I liked this latest biker incarnation, and enjoyed the Chuck / Noble / Michelle storyline.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Nov 7, 2008 20:15:39 GMT -5
I wish them well in their future endeavors.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 10, 2008 9:12:45 GMT -5
There is a lot of expectation that this is just the start of a gushing stream of firings. There is talk that anywhere from 8 or so to 16 or so guys may get the boot as early as this week. Linda McMahon, in a call with stockholders, said the company is looking to trim some fat.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 10, 2008 14:04:47 GMT -5
And the releases have commenced.
First batch includes Kenny Dykstra, Elijah Burke, and Lena Yada.
Company won't fold over any of these. I liked Burke, he was good on the mic, but totally lost in the shuffle. Dykstra had a lot of false starts. He's only 22, I am sure we'll see him again. Lena Yada was useless.
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Post by cactusjames on Nov 10, 2008 15:12:16 GMT -5
I know I'm going backwards, but I find it funny as soon as the new video game comes out, with updated rosters, they cut guys. I bring it up cause I got the game, and I've been doing Tag matches non stop because they improved it so much, way better double team moves, hot tags, etc., and by far the best is London and Kendrick. Now, I am a huge fan right now of The Brian Kendrick and Big Zeke, very similar to an old school HBK, but I was thinking how cool it's be if the Motor City Machine Guns were in WWE and could have had a feud with London and Kendrick, my video game would be way better, but that has to be a dream tag match up better than anything else I can think of. I liked London, but who cares, just something I thought of.
As for the latest batch, eh, no losses really. Maybe Elijah goes to TNA, maybe he could do something in the X Division. Same for Dykstra.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 10, 2008 15:26:48 GMT -5
TNA may not be in much of a hurry for either. They are certainly not gamebreakers at this point, and TNA is also looking to keep costs down. In fact, releases are planned for there too, according to some sources.
I too would have enjoyed a Kendrick / London - MCMG feud somehow someway.
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Post by cactusjames on Nov 10, 2008 19:49:47 GMT -5
Yeah I forgot about their cost cutting ways, but I do think they'll try and pick up someone, they already cut Disco Inferno and Nova as Agents, Christian might be leaving, I could see them having a little extra cash for Elijah or probably even London. I'd put safe money on the fact London will go to either ROH or TNA. Plus if TNA is only paying guys for appearing at shows, London shouldn't make them break the bank.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 19, 2008 10:06:28 GMT -5
Bye Bye Armando Estrada.
I liked him, as a manager. I think his picture is still on my MySpace page. As a wrestler, I could not make the transition. Neither could the WWE apparently. He has not been used in forever, and now he's gone.
Rumor continues that more are to come.
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MSBNYY
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Post by MSBNYY on Nov 19, 2008 10:14:22 GMT -5
He had a great debut, but they wanted him to be a heel, and the crowd loved him at first. Once he stopped shouting his name, he seemed to lose his luster on Raw, and once he moved to ECW, he was off my radar.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 19, 2008 10:20:11 GMT -5
I would not say the crowd ever loved him. They simply liked doing his catchphrase. When he really lost his luster is when they took him away from Umaga. His best role was as a manager. They should have made him the manager of monsters, with guys like Umaga and Khali and such.
His commissioner role on ECW was alright, but he was not used well. Look on YouTube for footage of him in OVW, he was a great heel back then.
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Post by MSBNYY on Nov 19, 2008 10:31:39 GMT -5
Fair enough. They loved the catchphrase. I guess anyone could have done that. But it WAS pretty damn funny.
I'm surprised the WWE didn't adapt and roll with it a little longer. But they cut it out. That was almost as bad as when they edited the "you suck" part out of the Kurt Angle music.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 19, 2008 10:49:04 GMT -5
Another example was Kennedy's catchphrase. Cool as it may be, having the crowd holler along with it was not conducive to drawing heel heat.
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Post by MSBNYY on Nov 19, 2008 10:56:11 GMT -5
Definitely not, but he was a good enough character and strong enough to still be solid. And he can be a decent face.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Dec 11, 2008 18:31:32 GMT -5
And Gene Snitsky gets the boot.
I lost interest in him as a badass when he shaved the beard.
Can you believe he has been with the fed since September of 2004??? He lasted FOUR YEARS! Holy crap.
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Post by thecaptain15 on Dec 11, 2008 19:21:42 GMT -5
Mike Knox appeared to have taken his spot as a psychotic big man....
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Post by MSBNYY on Dec 12, 2008 9:07:43 GMT -5
Hey, don't blame Snitzky. It wasn't HIS fault.
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Post by rlm6370 on Dec 12, 2008 9:11:10 GMT -5
Some dentist will now have a lot of work in front of him.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Jan 9, 2009 16:35:37 GMT -5
A savage mix of WWE cuts starting today...this is reprinted from www.f4wonline.com without permission. Notes on WWE cuts By Dave Meltzer WWE announced today it would be cutting approximately 10 percent of its work force as part of the program to cut $20 million in costs this year.
The cuts that will be made today are expected to save the company $8 million.
Talent cuts are expected to part of the layoffs.
Linda McMahon had spoken of the company doing a study to analyze operations and make cuts based on the results of the evaluation.
WWE has not had a losing quarter in years, but the company has also not been able to fund its high quarterly dividend based on continuing operations, thus having to go into its cash-on-hand. Wall Street has been leery of this, although the company has a huge amount of cash-on-hand and part of the reason for the dividend had been to distribute it to shareholders.
There are no warning signs, despite the slumping economy, regarding short or long-term company business going south. The only significant issue appears to be the weakening of the pound against the dollar, because it hurts the dollar revenue generated in the U.K. While the U.K. is one of the company's strongest markets, that is a hit, but not a major hit overall in the grand scheme of things.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Jan 9, 2009 20:44:43 GMT -5
So D-Lo Brown (who most did not even realize is back) and Bam Neely are gone.
I actually liked Bam Neely. Oh well.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Jan 9, 2009 20:46:24 GMT -5
Wow! They finally got Val Venis! The guy who has inexplicably stuck around forever is gone, along with a few other names...
ref Jimmy Korderas, who has been with the company since the Hogan era
Agent Tim White
Wrestler Kevin Fertig aka Kevin Thorn
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Post by MSBNYY on Jan 9, 2009 22:29:23 GMT -5
If Val Venis was never on the air, what were they paying him for?
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Jan 9, 2009 23:30:07 GMT -5
No one knows.
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$heriff Tom
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Post by $heriff Tom on Jan 10, 2009 11:24:52 GMT -5
Well, they released Gavin Spears. I liked the guy, although he had a blink and you miss him stint on ECW. He was a developmental star, especially in a feud with pre-WWE Cody Rhodes.
He was just a no-nonsense wrestler. Not enough of those. Oh well. Just read there are "more" but the sites are looking to confirm before running with the grisly details.
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Post by thecaptain15 on Jan 10, 2009 13:19:45 GMT -5
Agent Tim White
I guess there won't be any more brawls or vignettes from the Friendly Tap bar when the show is in Providence.....
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