A follow-up to the WWE pay-cut thread, because the company-side defence now being discussed deserves a more serious answer the outrage I've noticed. The argument is that some talent work far fewer dates than when older deals were signed, so WWE sees the old number differently. 🧵

https://twitter.com/allan_cheapshot/status/2051652495286403308

That argument is not absurd. Fewer house shows mean fewer bumps, fewer flights, fewer rental cars, fewer hotels, fewer nights away, and less money spent getting from one town to another. For many wrestlers, that schedule change may be a genuine improvement.

The WWE pay-cut story is not best understood as a morality play about greed, or a simple test of whether talent should walk away. It is a story about bargaining power: who has it, who thinks they have it, and who discovers the contract was not the real protection. 🧵 Reports say a number of WWE people have been asked to accept cuts, with one “pretty majorly pushed” talent reportedly asked to take 50 percent less. New Day reportedly declined restructuring and left, others accepted reduced terms.

How do you beat a drunken giant? You don't.

In one of the strangest REAL moments in Pro Wrestling history, a drunken André showed what happens when you don't want to cooperate with your opponent. Andre the Giant vs. Akira Maeda - The match that turned in to a shoot. [thread] 🧵 André's opponent, Akira Maeda, was a true tough guy. Akira would often compete in worked MMA styled bouts. (This was in 1986; long before MMA became popular.)

#OnThisDay in 1987: Big Van Vader made his NJPW debut by virtually killing Antonio Inoki dead, defeating him in three mins.

Fans at Sumo Hall were NOT HAPPY. They rioted. As a result, New Japan was banned from running events in Sumo Hall for over a year. [mini thread] 🧵 And yet when he was in AWA they wouldn't let him beat Greg Gagne. This shows how NJPW were forward thinking about creating a new monster heel, where, AWA weren't, and thus eventually died.

Today would’ve been the 71st birthday of Randy Mario Poffo, best known to wrestling fans as Randy "Macho Man" Savage. [Thread] 🧵 Born in Columbus, Ohio to an Italian-American father in Angelo and Jewish mother in Judy, Poffo had athletics in his family: his father was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s and was featured on Ripley's Believe it or Not! for his ability to do lots and lots of situps.

THE QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BASIC APPEAL BEHIND PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING?

Answers are from 1955: 🧵 SHELDON TANNEN, New York
Restaurateur
"Pro wrestling is a hippodrome, with the grunts and groans of the wrestlers and the shrieks of the spectators to give it stark reality. It's a great show that fascinates its fans, rough enough to seem authentic and funny enough to amuse....."

Ways that Vince McMahon killed the US territories [thread] Went to St. Louis and literally bought the long-time timeslot for St. Louis Wrestling, Wrestling at the Chase, away from the local office. Then ran shows directly against the flagship NWA promotion and almost literally put the first nail in the coffin of the St. Louis office.

Glassdoor Reviews by former WWE employees / contractors:

[thread]

"You could be released at any time. There's no benefits, no health insurance and the contracts were extremely one-sided." "Culture can be toxic at times"

Vince McMahon Buried Raven In Front Of The WWE Roster Bully Ray tells a story where Vince tried to put him in a waist-lock and he no-sold it:

#OnThisDay in 2018: Thomas Billington, best known to wrestling fans as the Dynamite Kid, passed away on his 60th Birthday.

Dynamite Kid was a real game-changer in this business. For his time, he was a revolutionary worker with near unrivalled intensity and working ability.

RIP Born in Golborne, Lancashire, England, wrestling was in his blood. His father Bill, uncle Eric, and grandfather Joe were all boxers at one point or another; another of his ancestors, James, most famous for being a state-employed executioner, wrestled as a child.

#OnThisDay in 2005: Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes, best known to his many fans as Eddie Guerrero, was found dead in a hotel room in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was just 38. RIP Born October 9, 1967 in El Paso, Texas, Eddie would attend wrestling events his father Gory wrestled in the El Paso Count Coliseum, and during intermissions, he and Chavo would wrestle one another.

#OnThisDay in 1975: Terry Funk defeated Paul Jones to win the @nwa United States Heavyweight Title in a tournament final. The championship was vacated following an October 4 plane crash that injured Ric Flair, David Crockett, Bob Bruggers, Tim Woods, and then-United States Champion Johnny Valentine.

#OnThisDay in 1997: WWF Survivor Series PPV:
Shawn Michaels defeated Bret Hart by "submission" to the WWF Title.
[Thread] In the hours leading up to the match, Hart, Michaels, and Pat Patterson worked out the match finish: Shawn would hook in Bret's finishing maneuver, the sharpshooter, while referee Earl Hebner was knocked out from a ref bump. Bret would reverse it and Michaels would tap out.

Hulk Hogan Lies Over The Years [thread] The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky offered him the lead role three times. Hogan claims he turned it down because "he didn't deserve it".

Aronofsky categorically denies that Hogan was ever even considered for the role.

Jon Cortez escapes a Zoltan Boscik Headlock. Gorilla Press in to a Hammerlock reversal

Headlock. Knee to the face

If you're a pro wrestling fan and the only pro wrestling history you've learned is via WWE produced documentary then you should literally question everything about what you know. Where should we start?

93,173

Young Rey Misterio Jr. [thread]

Pat Patterson pushing hard for Dolph Ziggler to get a monster push. This wound up backfiring pretty badly. Vince McMahon took those urges and decided to bury Ziggler as a rib on Patterson, according to Chris Jericho on a recent Talk Is Jericho episode. Vince McMahon Once Considered Donating A Wing So He Could "Fuck Up" A Hospital For An Angle.

"Vince thinks about it and says, 'We're really gonna f**k up this hospital. How much would it cost to rebuild?',"

Crazy Vince McMahon Stories [thread] Vince hates sneezing. When someone sneezes, he yells at them and tells them to control themselves. On the rare occasion Vince sneezes, he angrily mutters to himself and loses focus for a few minutes (Paul Heyman, on Jericho's podcast)

And with Dave going the full 5* on Golden Lovers vs. The Young Buck, and me finally getting to watch it, that means.....

This thread must continue..... The Golden Lovers vs. The Young Bucks - NJPW Long Beach - 3/25/18

My take: This is close to my favourite match from a storytelling perspective. Matt Jackson put on a career performance. Matt making Kenny hit the One Winged Angel was sublime, an all time spot. ****3/4