Welcome back to another round of Quick Takes—a post that indulges in the topics that aren’t worth dedicating a full article to, but are still on my mind.
Each week, I try to cram in as many smaller talking points as I can via a speedier process, and I invite you to chime in with your own thoughts about these topics and anything else by keeping the discussion going in the comments below! Drop some more talking points in there for everyone to chat it up about, too!
Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s topics.
Renee Young Leaving WWE
We all saw this coming from a mile away. She kept advancing in her WWE career, but her advancements were taken away from her one by one. They got rid of Talking Smack (which is now returning with Kayla Braxton and Xavier Woods and won’t be the same because they won’t allow people to actually be themselves like they used to). WWE Backstage was cancelled. Renee didn’t work out as a commentator. I even forget the name of the WWE Network show they had for her that lasted only a few episodes. Etc etc etc.
She clearly is a hard worker who wants to express herself and feel like her creativity is being used. The longer she’s been in WWE, the more she’s seen examples of that going nowhere, sadly.
Its time for her to spread her wings and fly, similar to how Cathy Kelley felt like it was time to explore other options and how Charly Caruso set herself up with that ESPN gig. Todd Grisham and Vic Joseph did the same. Its a regular thing.
Plus, I’m assuming having Jon Moxley work for AEW is a factor. Not only does she have an easy “in” with that company if she wants to work in the wrestling bubble and still explore more creative options elsewhere that AEW wouldn’t have as much control over as WWE, she’d also be with her husband. I’m positive that’s been a strain on their relationship, even if none of that is intentional on AEW and WWE’s parts.
It sucks she’ll be leaving, but we know its for potential better things and that she’ll likely be welcomed back at any time if she ever wants to.
WWE Botches Mickie James’ Return
Speaking of someone who was welcomed back, but in a bad way. Yeesh.
How did WWE manage to take Mickie James returning and treat it like it was less than meaningless? What did she do to piss people off to book her in a segment where she gets no entrance and wrestles in the background while Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe keep just yelling at each other that Rey Mysterio will be part of a promo segment later, and then, Mickie loses by count-out?
That’s horrendous. She deserves far, far better than that. Absolutely ridiculous. If I were her, I’d be complaining and telling them this is the kind of treatment that makes everyone want to go to AEW.
Attempted Kidnapping of Sonya Deville
Disgusting. What the hell is wrong with people?
Celebrities are not your friends and they are CERTAINLY not going to fall in love with you or owe you anything just because you’re a fan of them. I don’t get this whole generation of “stan” obsessions and how people seem to glorify being way, way too into celebrities.
They’re people. They just happen to be on a platform where more people know who they are and what they’re up to. Celebrities deserve privacy and its terrible how many avenues are out there that invade that, like paparazzi and fans bothering them for autographs and pictures when they’re just trying to eat or walk down the street. But this is another whole level of gross, psychotic behavior.
Thank goodness this is all it was, as this could have been so, so much worse. It’s still just terrible that it happened at all, and if Sonya is losing her match at SummerSlam as a means to take time off, we should all respect that.
There are too many lunatics in this world and it seems every day, more and more are coming out of the woodwork and thinking their erratic behavior is somehow okay. Seek help. You need it.
AEW Selling Tickets to Dynamite Tapings
AEW has figured they’ll test the waters in allowing fans to attend their tapings by selling a portion of the tickets and hoping it all works out for the best.
I don’t need to gaze into a crystal ball to tell you there will be some big problems. People are awful and they’ll create issues. It’s a guarantee.
Some yahoos won’t wear a mask. Plenty of people have already started trying to sell bulk tickets individually, which defeats the entire purpose of the social distancing measures.
There’s no way this works out well. The numbers for this pandemic aren’t shrinking and getting so awesome that its worth risking things. People just don’t care, though. Look around you and you’ll see so many people just no longer giving a shit because they’re tired of dealing with this pandemic and they’d rather just be selfish and greedy and lazy than to make the world a safer place for everyone else.
Again. Disgusting. Mankind blows, and I’m not talking about Mick Foley, who is an exemplary human.
WWE Thunderdome First Impressions
Its great they’re in an arena again. That helps make this less depressing. I like the overall setup, in theory, too. I also dig the entrances changing things up.
Its a step in the right direction, for sure.
That being said, there are many flaws. The biggest is that they need to stop piping in crowd noise that is not only too loud, but is also just a constant hiss. Without being able to hear any of the actual fans, its defeating the whole purpose. We need to hear chants for people and reactions to the moves!
I’d prefer if they could put a black background filter on everyone so they blend in better.
Still not digging the Thunderdome name. It’s so synonymous with Mad Max that its strange WWE didn’t just try to think of something it can brand on its own. That’s like WWE advertising a new pay-per-view called WWE Fast and Furious. We’re stuck with Thunderdome now, though, and it seems most people are just like “Shit yeah, that’s cool! Wooo!” so its certainly a better option than some other ideas. We could have gotten the “WWE Universe Dome” with them calling it the U-Dome for short. That would have been bland, right?
What are your takes on these topics? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
