Who in TV/Radio (newscasters, sportscasters, entertainers) would you both consider major influences growing up? Since I was seven, I would always play with my toy microphone pretending to be like Peter Jennings, a fellow Canadian, as I always loved the succinct way he presented the news every night on ABC. Him, along with Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole inspired me to study broadcasting in school.
I know that Dave Meltzer likes to cover amateur wrestling at the Olympics in the Observer to keep up with the scene and to see who could potentially have futures in MMA or pro wrestling. John, do you also like to watch amateur wrestling, especially during the Olympics games?
I’m an old-school Legos fan. I don’t know much about current sets, but I wondered what some of your favorite sets are. Were you into Legos as a kid, or is it something that you got into once you got older?
Hey guys, since I’m the middle of finishing my masters degree in journalism, I have found it really interesting on how John has reported on the scary incident involving Sonya Deville. Especially in the fact of you publicly saying the name of the perpetrator. If the person is not a public figure, in most of Europe it would be an absolute no-go to name either the victim or the perpetrator. Not only to protect their own privacy, but also to protect the privacy of their families. Maybe in North America situations like these are handled differently - I’m just really interested in your thought process reporting on a story like this one.
(Hopefully I was able to phrase this question the right way. Obviously I’m not trying to defend these horrible actions in any way.)
Jackie from Orlando
There’s usually a lot of talk about fans desiring a more sports like presentation to their professional wrestling, but I disagree. I enjoy a mixture. As a kid, the outrageous storylines are what got me into the product in the first place and something I miss today. As an adult, I enjoy New Japan’s sports presentation. Is there no longer room or interest in a more even mixture of those two things in North America. I feel all wrestling today leans in one of those directions rather than trying to do both.
This question is moreso for Wai, but I’m sure everyone would enjoy John’s thoughts as well. The new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 came out during DC FanDome, and in it Cheetah claims that she wants to be “an apex predator.” What is your level of interest in the movie, and do you think Patty Jenkins is a fan of the Legend Killer?
I am a big football (soccer) fan and wondered what the reaction in Canada has been to Alphonso Davies? He’s only 19 and is one of the fastest footballers in the world He’s had a great season for his professional club Bayern Munich and he was the first Canadian to win the champions league.
Not trying to be political here but I am curious not being Canadian. How much easier a decision was it to start Post Wrestling knowing you two did not have to worry about healthcare? I often thought of leaving UPS to start a business but the health package is too good to risk my family’s well being.
When will you guys feel it’s safe enough to start doing shows again with both of you in the same room? If you’re already doing it, when was it that you decided it’s safe enough?
I imagine I’m not the first to ask this but it’s easily refreshable.
Which NXT call-up did WWE miss the mark with the most (as in someone who clearly has all the tools but was wasted on the main roster)?
Which NXT call-up did WWE make the most out of? (Maybe better served as the one you discounted most who has turned their game around on the main roster)
If you have time, feel free to go male/female for both parts, if not, I fully understand. Keep up the good work and thanks for all the excellent coverage during this bizarre time.
On the NOAH Destiny card y’all recently reviewed, you discussed the GHC title reign of Takeshi Rikio.
Where do you think Rikio’s reign ranks on a list of detrimental title reigns? Which title reigns in wrestling history would you say were the most injurious to the business of their promotion?
To help you answer, here are some other title reigns to consider:
Stan Hansen’s AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1985-86
Ron Garvin’s NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign in 1987
Sgt. Slaughter’s WWF Championship reign in 1991
Hulk Hogan’s WCW Championship reign in 1999
David Arquette’s or Vince Ruso’s WCW Championship regins in 2000
Brock Lesnar’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign in 2005-06
Of course, some of these reigns coincide with other booking/storyline decisions that hurt business, rather than just being the fault of the wrestler in question.
Coming off the back of two short and overall pretty good WWE PPV’s that were only a week apart… going forward - and even when crowds return - would you rather
A) Have one PPV every 4 to 5 weeks that lasts between 4-5 hours
OR
B) Have a PPV every 2 weeks that lasts between 2 to 2 and a half hours. (This would be with the idea that not every big name / belt is on every show of course)
I personally think option B would offer an extra important live event as the company scale back on house-shows, and give the Network more “premiere” content.
Wai, did you splurge on Rage Against The Machine tickets for their Canada tour that was supposed to be this summer? And what was your thoughts on the “high” ticket prices? I paid $190 CAD all together for an Edmonton ticket and I feel that is not unreasonable considering people pay that or more for Oilers tickets. Rage in Canada is a very rare occurrence.
Can you guys explain the difference between a Tope con Hilo, Tope sin Hilo, Tope con Giro, Tope Suicida, etc?
My understanding was that Tope con Hilo and Tope sin Hilo are correct for dives over the top rope, as they translate from Spanish to “dive with thread” and “dive without thread“. I always thought that “Giro” was how it was said with a Japanese accent, and maybe an offensive way of saying it in the US.
However, Excalibur says Giro. As I believe that Excalibur has a lot of respect for The tradition of Lucha Libre, and is not a racist guy, I can’t imagine he could be using an incorrect and offensive term to describe the move.
To confuse me even more, I always thought a Tope suicida was a dive through the middle rope, but I’ve often heard dives over the top (such as the one the Undertaker does) called the same thing.
What are you own personal calls on wrestlers that you got very right or very wrong early into wrestlers careers?
For instance - I think my best call was arguing that Cody Rhodes was going to be a very big deal. This occurred early during the tag team with Ted DiBiase Jr and everyone was pegging Ted as the future WM Main Eventer.
My worst call was Jack Swagger. I saw him shortly into his ECW title run and thought he was the next great heel for a decade to come. I was wrong.
Hearing you guys recently talk about having Disney Plus for the upcoming Marvel series had me wondering what other TV series you are or were you big followers of?
Have either of you ever got into The Walking Dead?
The only time I think I remember you talking about was when it was up against WWE PPVs at the height of it’s popularity. I think I have also heard Wai mention The Watchmen series but besides that you guys don’t mention too many current TV shows outside of wrestling that you watch.
Do you ever see a time where a WWE superstar would be able to hold a title in another company, like with John Moxley holding two different company’s belt?
How much did Baba and Inoki dislike one another? Was it just simply two promoters who wanted to have the best wrestling, or was there more to their relationship? And did they patch things up towards the end of Baba’s life?
Since AEW started up we’ve seen guys like Jon Moxley, Brodie Lee, and FTR make the jump from WWE. It seems like a matter of time before we see someone leave AEW to head to WWE. Do you see anyone on the AEW roster being more likely to make that move?
The Miz has tremendous depth in WWE. From being a main eventer to a midcarder, heel or face, singles or tag team, having his own reality show, hosting a game show, hosting talk shows, etc. Is there anyone in AEW that you see becoming their version of The Miz? I could see Kip Sabian sliding into a similar role.
With this most recent wave of incredibly generic theme songs, do you think this is a direct response to Bobby Rhoode(and a lesser extent Shinsuke) for never really overcoming how over their themes were? I can’t remember the last time it was necessary for a graphic or name to cross the titantron to be able to identify a newer wrestler, and with Keith Lee, they changed his theme when he was called up to make it less distinguishable.