Any plans on traveling soon? What are the current border regulations? Maybe the new york shows? Maybe the 3 shows in Chicago? I was just in Chicago last weekend. I wish I could be there in Sept. You guys were wondering about the ability to sell 3 shows. I think they can. They seem to be just opening up the city. There were zero shows last weekend. Thx fellas.
In the intro to this show, who says Waiâs name after the âNobody is ready for Asukaâ sample?
BrandonfrmNJ
Take 2 and action hey guys good to talk to you again my question for the month is this
-who are your personal colossusâs
-what is jaxson ryker sidewalk slam called âThe insurrectionâ âJan 6
1 Like
Jamie Koh
With crowds making a comeback here in July I want to pick your brains on looking back at the past year with this questionâŚ
What storylines do you think would be totally different if it wasnât for the empty arena setting and the ability to control the .mp3 crowds.
I wholeheartedly believe that Jey Uso would of gotten Kofimania type pops during the initial Roman storyline. The promos and storytelling were on another level. He likely wouldnât have beat Roman for the title because of it but I personally believe his present day position on the card would be much higher en route to challenging again.
Steve from BC,
Hey guys, with the return of live crowds on the horizon for the WWE, we are all going to see how people truly feel about some of these characters we see every week. What is one character you think is going to be a lot more over to the crowd than some might expect. And who is someone you think the crowd will turn on or just be apathetic to?
For me I think Matt Riddle has really latched onto something with this RKBro angle and is going to be super over with live audiences. On the flip side, with the recent losses to Lashley and coupled with this stupid storytime gimmick I think Drew McIntyre has lost a lot of steam and we may start to see audiences turn on him.
What do you think?
Keep up the great work!
Have either of you done any backcountry camping/canoe trips?
What was your favourite camping experience?
How deep are you two in regarding password managers and authentication tools? Past year Iâve been working on changing my habits to meet a basic level - all my passwords generated by a manager (Bitwarden) and utilizing a âsoft tokenâ for sites that offer it. Iâm thinking about getting a physical token like a Yubikey as I carry a similar product for my work for the past number of years. It feels like the every week thereâs a new site apologizing to its users that they were compromised, and itâs easy to change my passwords now without fear of needing to change countless others.
Roy from Rhode Island
I recently rewatched some ppvs involving Muhammad Hassan, and ended up listening to some related podcasts. The consensus seemed to be that, even before the 7/7 angle with Undertaker, this angle was hampered by the booking changing/hot-shotting the original tweener nature of the character, the strain of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. post 9/11 not having abated, but also the inherent difficulty of booking a nuanced character like Hassan in a business so often as black & white as pro wrestling.
Do you see any way that this angle could have worked then, and if not, would you trust any company to book a similar angle today?
Kenny from Boston
Hey Guys,
Do you think that it is a smart move for a wrestler to refuse to lose, even if it is in the best interest of the story?
While I think most fans see refusal to do jobs as a negative, the list of guys that we know really protected themselves and their characters, above all else, reads like a wrestling hall of fame:
Hogan
Nash
Road Warriors
Shawn Michaels
Roddy Piper
Sometimes HHH
The list goes on and on.
Is this just some kind of survivors bias (these guys would have been big stars anyway) or was refusing to lose an important part of what made them such big draws?
Where would you draw the line between a guy protecting his character, and a guy just being a jerk?
Thanks for all you do. Love to hear what you think.
Who is more likely to have a run with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, SANADA or Yuya Uemara?
Imran from Huddersfield
With the Bryan and Punk news, the focus has rightfully been on what this means for AEW - but what do you think this says about WWE and its current product? How negatively do you think the news has been recieved by the WWE higher ups - and which singing will they be more bothered by?
Thank you for all of the great content, Iâm so happy you guys started this endeavour.
Apologies if itâs been asked before - does John still have his crazy skill of being able to remember which day of the week any given date occurred on? I remember this fondly from the LAW days and was never 100% sure that it wasnât a work!
2 Likes
Vince from Sacramento, CA
How big of a move would it be for Bryan Danielson to show up in AEW? A 2-time Mania main eventer who is beloved by the hardcore fans. Would this be as big as Hogan to WCW or Kurt Angle to TNA? What are your guys thoughts on how much that could change the industry?
Thanks for all your guys hard work!
Hey guys, hope youâre both keeping well
Do you believe the Montreal Screwjob is the most talked-about event in pro-wrestling, whether positive or negative? Which other shows would compete with that?
Did you guys ever get in trouble for anything in school?
Brody from Vancouver
Hey guys hope youâre staying safe and doing well. Apologies if this has already been asked but, do either of you remember your very first âinsider scoopâ you got directly from a source you were talking to? If so, what was it?
If not, was there a specific point/event over the years where you decided to not report on vague rumors or has that just been something you both have been doing since the start? Again apologies if you have answered or gone over either of these before. Thank you both for all the great work you do.
Jesse from the 6
On last monthâs Ask-A-Wai, John said that he thinks many people underestimate just how profound Hulk Hoganâs effect was on pro-wrestling in the 1980s. I recently watched a good example of this: AWAâs Super Sunday from St. Paul in April of 1983. Hogan challenges Bockwinkel for the AWA Title. Hulkamania is in full-effect and the crowd is mad for Hogan.
Do you know if Super Sunday was shown on closed circuit? Do you know what their range would have been? Was this common? Was AWA doing good business in the early '80s?
Also, Hogan appears to win the title that night but itâs a Dusty Finish and the belt is returned to Bockwinkel. Do you think if Verne Gagne had put the belt on Hogan, he would have stayed in AWA longer? If so, Gagneâs decision to keep the belt on the 48-year-old Bockwinkel has to be one of the most criminally stupid booking decisions in wrestling history, no? I know the AWA traditionally had preferred to showcase technical wrestling, but the fans clearly adore Hogan here.
Take Care
1 Like
I recently listened to Rewind a Wai # 27 (ECW Massacre on 34th Street). I am curious, since you stated that a lot of performers were not getting paid at the time, do you know whether some of the performers were paid after ECW went out of business or did basically everyone lose the last couple of months of payment? Do you think itâs possible that some of the performers who were still owed something by ECW demanded to be paid the missing amount by WWE when they were putting together One Night Stand in 2005? At the end of the day WWE bought ECW and all of itâs debts with it. I canât imagine Rob Van Dam for example working with Heyman again in 2005 when heâs still owed 150k.
Rod from England
Do you know what type of sunglasses Kenny Omega is currently wearing in AEW?
Hey John & Wai,
Are either of you familiar with Bo Burnham?
If so did either of you see his Netflix Lockdown special?
If not, do you have any highlights from the past year in terms of lockdown viewing?
Thanks guys for being the highlight of my lockdown listening.
Happy Summer guys!
With the G1 Climax scheduled for a couple of months time. Can you see any full-time AEW roster member being included? Could you even envision a tournament match on an episode of Dynamite?
Away from AEW it would obviously be great to see a Bryan Danielson take part but a curveball like Braun Strowman would perhaps even be more interesting? Any talent youâd be curious to see turn up?
Keep up the good work!
Dan in England