ASK-A-WAI: Questions Thread

John and Wai,

As you guys wind down your MCU reviews for awhile, I have five “either or” rapid fire questions for you guys:

#1 Better antagonist: Obadiah Stane or Adrian Toomes?
#2 Which performance did you dislike more: Brie Larson in Captain Marvel or Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk?
#3 Who had the more underrated performance: Paul Rudd as Ant-Man or Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange?
#4 Better song: Back in Black or Hooked on a Feeling?
#5 Which character did you enjoy the most out of: Rocket, Loki, Shuri, Black Widow and Nick Fury?

Brandon frm NJ

My dearest fans of the tv show Cardinal only on CTV

It is I the voice of the voiceless the wind beneath your wings been awhile since we spoke feels like yesterday John thought I was emailing from cape Sheridan in Nunavut what a hoot eh Wai. Anywho I have a few questions and would love it if you answered them otherwise your not living up to the show Ask-A-Wai is here goes. Shiiiiit kind of nervous dawg bare with me your an intimidating presence in the post universe. Ok here it is

-John and Wai why wasn’t Rick Rude championship material in wcw/WWE

-why was Braun strowman wearing affliction jeans on CSI Smackdown this past Friday. Who recommended him that fashion? It’s absolutely garish. He looked like one of Joe Exotics henchman

-in closing where do we go from here as a society.

Love you guys appreciate you I’m out of here peace

Paul from New Jersey

I always remember John referencing an interview that Mouth did with Marty Jannetty where Dan asks Marty about regrets. In terms of mistakes & regrets, Marty’s answer was something to the effect of “It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. My question is, if Marty kept clean & didn’t make a complete fool of himself on the Internet, what was his ceiling? Would he be in the WWE fold somehow? Trainer? Thank you.

Dan from Downtown Toronto

Howdy John and Wai!

Do you feel like wrestling journalism has faced a wave of anti-media backlash like the Trump-anchored anti-press sentiment in the States or is pro wresting more of its own ecosystem?

Hey guys
One of the big draw back for me to subscribe to the wwe network is that the 9.99 price mark converted to the Australian dollar ends up being approx $18 a month, which I can’t justify paying for at that price point… should the wwe look at making a different price in each market overseas to maybe attract more people where the dollar rates aren’t strong???

1 Like

Jesse from the 6

What do you know about the career of Bobo Brazil? I read that he was the 1B to Bruno’s 1A in the early years of the WWWF. I also read that the WWWF US Championship was more or less made for Brazil, because, as a black man, the office and/or the fans wouldn’t accept him as the World Champion.

Do you know if this is true? And was Brazil most famous for his WWWF work or was he prominent in other territories as well?

Take Care

Connor from
Dublin Ireland. Longtime fan occasional poster just want to thank you all for your amazing coverage during the pandemic! Just two questions. 1. Who do you think is more likely to headline the WWE HoF next year from the following. Punk, Cena, Rock or Taker. 2. Do you think looking based on how wwe has struggled to make another figurehead star in recent years and just how successful John Cena has become in the mainstream with his films, do you think his run on top of wwe post rock and Austin will be looked upon more historically succeful.

Chris Thunder from Down Under

Do you foresee a time when a Canadian company may reach the level of an ROH, MLW, NWA, or Impact.

*Other then Impact, because while they remain Canadian owned the majority of their shows seem to be still in the US with a very heavy US roster.

Paul from New Jersey

Do you think we will ever see a truly shocking Royal Rumble victory ? Like if Sami Zayn won in 2017. A true mid card talent built up to shock the world or come up short at Mania.

Favorite Limp Bizkit song?

Why was there no King of the Ring in 1990?

With the lockdown still in place, how has this affected the Saudi deal WWE has in place? Is it simply suspended until they can travel back over there and time/events added on at the end, or will the company have to forfeit some of the money? Also, given Sami Zayn being both opposed to competing at any of the previous Saudi shows, and now apparently not leaving lockdown to appear on TV, do you feel that the company will look to cut their losses with him, or would that simply be a PR disaster?

Either one of you have any favorite board games growing up with any family memories or anything you might currently bring out to play, I recently introduced my son to Monopoly, Candyland and Connect 4 and he’s loving them, I haven’t played any in years and introducing him to them is sparking up great times I had growing up with them. Any ones that you hated? Operation always frustrated me. Similar question; any of you into cards at all? Whether it be poker, blackjack or any card tricks

John, what did you ever do with those Dallas / JR Ewing 12 Inch Figures you got back from the proboards gift open in March 24, 2015?

Dan in Chicago

Hey guys,
Great shows as always. I recently heard some of the audio from the Wade Keller/Bill Watts interview in 1992 that got him fired from WCW. I have read some quotes of what he said over the years, but I have to say that hearing the audio really struck a nerve with me. It was awful. The only time I heard him talk about being fired from WCW he said he was painted in a wrong light or something. Has he ever apologized for what he said? It was racist as hell, but the nasty stuff he said about gay people was a lot more aggressive, using several slurs. Have you guys ever listened to the interview? We all know about him pushing JYD in the 70’s , but the guy was a racist, homophobic ass in that interview. What do you think of that whole controversy? Thanks.

If the dark side franchise expanded and covered one of your other interests what would you like to see? For instance, Wai, is there a dark side of marvel/Lego they could do? For John, a dark side of aqua/Dallas/90210?

In the last few years I have had practically no interest in UFC shows other than a Daniel Cormier or Tony Ferguson level fight. The issues around it being so difficult to get big fights together, the drug testing issues, and Dana being unbearable at all times, has turned me off from the vast majority of it.

So, I’m wondering if you’ve seen a change in the level of interaction with the content you’ve put out about MMA over the years? And what are each of your interest levels for MMA?

Joe from Hamilton

Wai, did you grow up a fan of Hong Kong cinema of the 80-90’s? I used to work at blockbuster video and fell in love with the genre. John Woo’s the killer, and infernal affairs are some of my favourites.

Anthony from Melbourne

Catching up on 3 months of Ask-A-WAIs and I had some random questions to some things you mentioned.

  1. John you mentioned COVID forced you to stop using your office space and you have realised you may be able to get away without it. (If I may ask) What was it for? It seems like a very unnecessary over-head for what you guys do, I don’t think you guys make enough money from this so save everywhere you can!

  2. I don’t want you guys to have to explain how the Nielsen rating system works but a question asked the other month raised the question in my mind.
    Why is nielsen still the system used by advertisers? I agree social media does not appear to have a reliable method of measurement but surely with the shows being viewed on cable via DVR or subscription service, these viewing methods would enable accurate numbers, including people who record the show and watch later? Technology has come so far, the nielsen system just seems redundant.

Hi guys,

Love the show. I’ve been with you since the days that you were on after The Law, and I want to thank you for countless hours of entertainment.

My question is a “what if” in regards to AEW. While Covid 19 has obviously had a huge effect on the shows, I can’t help but think that the biggest AEW/Covid issue was the cancellation of the NCAA tournament.

The tournament was going to be on TNT, TBS and TruTV in the states, and no doubt would have featured many advertisements for Dynamite. While it’s impossible to say what would have happened in a non-Covid world, I’m wondering how much of an effect you think this publicity would have had on the brand. Would they be doing ratings closer to Raw, or do you think their popularity would be about the same?

Given the number of sports fans who seem to have no idea that AEW even exists, I can’t help but feel like losing that tournament was a huge blow to the company, and they could be in a totally different position today.

Thanks again for all you do.

Two Qs this month:

  1. How important is the role of the road agent in the setting up of a match and/or storyline? Are agents/producers still necessary in this day and age, in your opinion?

  2. When you both were attending shows when you were kids, did you guys like to make noise and would cheer and boo, chant, raising your hands up, etc and would you still guys still do that today (if not in a COVID world obviously) if not doing this as a full-time job when attending live events?

Ari from Montreal

Did any of you get into Money Heist (casa de papel) during confinement? If so did u enjoy it?

Also which type are you guys:
A) watch it in original language with english subtitles
B) english dubbed version