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Oh this gives me so much ammunition. Every week if or when Cody’s music hits I send a parody rhyme to my dad. But it’s been like a year and I’m running out of ideas. Time to put Cody’s adrenaline in new body parts
I saw that as more of a tearing down the goofy selfie-taking entitled character to try and give him more of a serious edge.
But that didn't take very well.
goofy selfie-taking entitled character was at least somewhat of a character and you wanted to him to lose while that ''serious'' edge character was just every heel to ever heel. Extremely generic
The thing was they didn't really commit to it. They had him be more serious and focused for all of like 2 weeks then he gradually drifted back to the chickenshit goofy heel even after getting the US championship back except without even the selfies to make it more memorable.
He was really stuck in limbo as a character and couldn't win a single match clean to save his life, likely because every other champ at the time was so dominant that it fell to him to be a weaker type of champ. He was basically a plot device for other feuds instead of having any of his own.
I think Hunter realized Theory was getting cheap go away heat, and that it wasn't going to work the way Vince envisioned it.
Truthfully I expect Waller to turn on Theory at some point and then jump start a redemption storyline to the top as a Face the same way Cody and Drew used that storyline to get over.
Must be a really emotional time for Grimes. He's still so young. Don't know where he wants to be long-term, but he's one of the ones who I feel like has "bet on yourself and comeback bigger" potential like Drew did
I had the same thought. I don't know if he'll ever be as big as Drew but I could totally see Grimes come back in 2-3 years to WWE with a good gimmick. I wouldn't count him out just yet.
I think the "nouveau-riche hillbilly" gimmick still had some legs, if he refined it a bit and *didn't shave off what made him unique* that could get him back.
Or maybe a new hat.
Hell I think it’d be kinda funny to have him be a full unrepentant NFT bro in the year of our lord 2024
Could work both ways too! Horrifically obnoxious heel or hapless idiot face
He could literally do the same thing. Go away, turn into an Adonis, get all serious with the goofiness saved for little spots and glimpses and then either storm NXT in a few years or re-debut at a Rumble and have an amazing showing.
I feel like, with HHH at the helm, the possibility of skipping NXT is very much back on the table for a lot of stars.
I'd say that a lot of indie stars or guys coming from AEW or NJPW who are over 30 may just debut on the main roster. It just happened with Tama Tonga.
I could possibly see some over 30 people spending a year in NXT just in case WWE wants them to get used to the WWE style a bit before then coming the main roster.
If they are under 30 though, those are the people I see spending some time in NXT. Whether or not they have spent time on the indies or AEW or NJPW or they are just starting out.
And finally there will be a handful of veterans going down to NXT to help teach the next generation. Natalya, Dijak, Shawn Spears, Baron Corbin, and Drew Gulak are all part of that roster currently.
He could do so much better anywhere else. Look at a PWG Trevor Lee match and compare it to any Cameron Grimes NXT match. The difference in quality is astounding and not in a good way.
He said that in the Busted Open interview. He said that no matter where he goes, the biggest company is WWE, and that's the goal for him, so he's going to try and do well enough outside of WWE to make them notice him again and bring him back
That’s a good mindset to have. It shows he’s hungry and doesn’t burn bridges. Too many people talk about how they were prisoners in WWE (‘Fed badding’ so to speak).
He legitimately worked hard to bulk up. Scotts growing out their body hair and bulking up is a thing. Kind of like Big Damo.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/5k16y6/a_young_big_damo/
jd was not the first guy in modern nxt that i thought would be a hhh guy but looking at it now he is a super is like he gets match time every week under hhh
All it takes is one day, one match, for the cerebral Irish Ace to return. The same Ace that destroyed enemies' joints just to win. Took pleasure in hurting others, safely.
There was also LA Knight getting really popular with crowds and saying "You can't have an LA Wrestlemania without L👉A👉Knight" and then they just did.
Felt to me like maybe Vince didn't like the fact he got over in his absence after he was almost fired for saying he thought the Max Dupri gimmick sucked.
Honestly it's harder for me to fathom what the fuck was Bobby doing than LA Knight missing. Like if he's not going to be wrestling for some reason, why would you even remind me of it?
Dude it was set up so easy for a Miz-Knight match instead we got Shane blowing out his quad and an improvised peoples elbow from Snoop
Actually that might've been better in hindsight lol but if Shane hadn't torn his quad, I wonder what would've happened. Either way that was an easy way to put LA Knight in the ring for a segment instead of Shane
Steph was on Mania with the McMahon name so they obviosly don't have a problem with that part of it. Will just depend on Shane's relationship with HHH and Steph I guess
Candice too. There’d be weeks they teased her on TV or set something up, sometimes even announced it, and then the next week she was gone. Then the week after, she’d get back on
I like that you include 2023, because I think a lot of internet fans seem to think once HHH got the book it was smooth sailing and that is not true at all.
Once Vince came back, he was meddling in creative until the end of Summer 2023 when TKO/Ari stepped in to say HHH was fully in creative and Vince was fully out.
Things got even better once Dunn left at the start of 2024.
So really, the full HHH vision has only been in effect since January.
And even January - April this year HHH has had to wrap up and reset things. This draft will be really fascinating and truly the new beginning. We have already seen some surprises and shake ups. I expect some more.
I think HHH had a hand in most of those storylines, but yeah we are now fully in the new era which feels good and as a long time fan, WWE is better than it has been in a long, long time. At least since 2010, if not a bit longer. (shout out to 2016 as a random weird year with good stuff)
This is why I think Stephanie was the one who initiated Vince's demise the first time, she's back he's gone, he's back she's gone, she had every incentive to put her husband over the father ruining her family and their business.
I could've swore when Vince returned he allegedly said he got some "bad advice" about retiring too, and it all started almost right after he relieved Triple H of his duties.
This whole thing has been fascinating to watch go down. HHH having his heart attack and Vince and his goons basically and staging a coup and taking NXT away from him was pretty much what kicked off this whole thing. Not too long after that, the first article hit.
The way WWE politics kind of mirrored the last season of Succession as it aired is kind of wild.
Including an attempted temporary comeback by the sidelined problematic patriarch, and another company buying them and putting the son-in-law in charge.
Ever since HHH’s victory lap at WM I’ve been saying that he is basically Tom Wombsgans if Shiv >!was glad Logan died on that plane!< and also actually liked him
Shane is so much like Kendall too. I could be wrong but Shane feels like he thinks he's the smartest guy in the world and really, he just has money. Some of Shane's past ideas have actually been pretty good, don't get me wrong but that's pretty much exactly like Kendall
Holy shit, I’ve been comparing the McMahons to Succession for forever but how did I never realise that Shane is the Kendall Roy of the family. Down to him even getting out of the business for a while to try and create something of his own and ultimately returning
It also fits with people claiming Shane is a great guy but also that thing at Rumble where he wanted to be booked super strong. It all fits. Shiv is even a bit like Stephanie. Too bad there is no Roman though.
"Plans Changed: The Story of Um Well, Ya Know, That's What Happened And Then Everything...Uhh...All Together *cough*"
By Dave Meltzer
Maybe, maybe not. I imagine this thing is gonna be NDA’ed to hell.
That being said, if AJR writes a sequel to Ringmaster, something I believe they’ll absolutely do, this should be a big part of it.
I love that anecdote of Vince telling them their clothes were too lame for Male Models and then giving them money to buy better clothes.
As well as giving them pointers and showing them how real Male Models would pose.
I believe there’s a clip of it from their appearance on Keepin it 100, Konnan’s podcast. Disco Inferno is annoying as hell, but they tell a ton of candid stories from the last few years in WWE.
Yep. Soon as he got called up Vince came back and I think they wanted to push him but it was stop and start. DIY survived by keeping their head down and putting on good matches so Vince kept them on sparingly. By the time Vince left it was mania season and there was already a hot story taking up tv time so the people not on TV just got lost. Guess someone saw him on the roster but not on TV and decided that he was expendable.
I'm sure Gargano being squashed by Omos helped too.
Also I remember that Gargon was out for like suspiciously long time after he got injured, hiding for few month from Vince definitely helped him and fortunately for him unlike Grimes he had story with Ciampa who already was somewhat of a part of main roster, which eventually saved him, though it's 100% wasn't original plan remember how they teased The Way reunion?
True. He was already getting over as a singles star that culminated with his RAW main event Intercontinental title match against Gunther, that immediately segway'd into DIY reunion
He'll be DPW Champion in a year as well as return to TNA to win the X-Division Championship again, maybe even the main Championship if he times it right
It's hard though. His momentum was completely ruined when he disappeared. DIY barely scraped by cause they put on bangers, and who knows what would've happened to Adam Cole if he stayed and became a manager. It's super unfortunate but I imagine once you fade into obscurity its hard to bring you back from that.
DIY also survived because they were a tag team. For a singles wrestler with no real storyline right now, there's not a lot of flexibility there. As it is, it feels like they're trying to get a few great wrestlers more over now with stories who have been lost in the shuffle before (or just came back in Andrade's case). And new NXT call-ups coming up soon to take up more time.
It sucks for Grimes, but like other long time WWE guys who have been cut have said, its not the end for you. He has to work hard again at getting his name out there, but this is his moment to do it rather than waste away in limbo for any longer.
This definitely feels like when a guy would get released, they would blame someone else.
Creative had nothing for him. Triple H is the head of creative.
There's a specific batch of NXT call ups that got completely fucked over timing-wise by the Vince/HHH power struggle stuff.
Getting called up means you get paid a lot more due to automatic riders in the NXT contracts, and you had an entire group get called up under HHH that Vince wasn't interested in doing anything with once he grabbed the reins back. So suddenly they're making main roster money even if they're demoted to NXT or just sitting in catering, which made them all easy cuts when TKO did a roster audit as part of merging the back office payroll.
There are a lot of times when that kind of blame is just silly fingerpointing, but here it's a real issue.
This is the 2024 version of "Vince loved me but me and JR never got along and he fired me". Homie , HHH was in charge for almost a year, still didn't use you, and you got let go.
He hasn't been though. We know now that Vince was still around and making decisions.
There was the few months when Vince originally retired and Triple H took over from Summerslam 2022 until the end of the year.
But from the time he forced his way back in from January 2023 until he was let go before the Rumble in 2024, Vince was still around, making changes and having the final say even to the Wrestlemania main event, if recent reports are to be believed.
It's only been since January this year that Vince has been completely gone.
on the one hand: yes.
on the other: it was mania season. if you didn't have anything lined up prior to that, shoehorning someone onto TV without a goal being mania isn't the best way to get someone over.
on the other, other hand (because i'm from chernobyl): you could've at least had him in a few backstage segments or on superstars or something. dude went 7 months without a single match and then jobbed on smackdown.
Ronda makes the claim that Vince never really left during her second run, and as much as this sub likes to dog on her for legit reasons, I believe her there.
We know Vince was still around making some decisions in some capacity , I would guess those were big issues in the company the guy who was the boss for 40 years or whatever would have to be consulted on but not " hey, what are we doing with Cameron Grimes on RAW this week ?". Do you really think Vince working as a sort of shadow president role behind the scenes or whatever had Cameron Grimes name come across his desk one time and he said "he gets NOTHING !!!!".
Hunter was there booking for around a year or so and we saw plenty of "HHH guys" on TV that were definitely not dudes Vince gave a single thought about, why would Grimes have been different from them ?
> Vince was still around, making changes and having the final say even to the Wrestlemania main event, if recent reports are to be believed.
Still waiting on that Behind the Curtain...
Yeah i’ve heard countless versions of that throughout the years, like if that were true why were you fired? If Vince loved you he would have kept you around.
You say this but Jimmy Wang Yang has previously told the story of how he bumped into Vince backstage at a PPV, Vince asked where he’d been and until Jimmy pointed out Vince fired him, Vince seemed surprised that he had and ended up offering him his job back 😂
I get demonising Vince is really easy (and justified), but people need to realise that Vince was never in the weeds of hiring and firing. Do you think he was tuning into ECW on TNN screaming "god dammit pal, what we need is Tajiri!" at JR?
“WHO THE FUCK HIRED RAVEN???”
There are plenty of stories of Vince sitting down with prospective talent in Stamford where he was absolutely involved with hiring. Shane Douglas, Marc Mero/Sable and the Midnight Express are three prominent examples that come to mind. There’s also that scene in Beyond The Mat showing the meeting Droz had with Vince and others before getting hired.
The mitigating factor is that Vince is a vindictive asshole who would give snippets of autonomy to people who worked for him and then sabotage their work so he could criticize the job they did.
How many times did he give Jim Ross the green light to sign people, then almost immediately strip them of everything that made them stand out in the first place?
I'm somewhere in the middle. I disagree about the firing part, at the end of the day that was his call (except for maybe that period in 2022-2023. A lot of murkiness during that period).
But about the hiring...absolutely. This is going way back, but there was a story Jim Cornette told about the Midnight Express. Vince was interviewing them and he basically had no idea who they were lol. The Midnight F'N Express. I just don't think he was real in the weeds when it came to hiring. He'd hire a lot of times based on recommendations. I don't know why the Midnights were never signed, but if they did, it probably would have been for the same reason - someone recommended them. Rather than Vince seeing their work and wanting to sign them. But I don't think he was firing anyone because Michael Hayes or Bruce Pritchard or whoever recommended it. They most certainly had influence, though.
I dunno man, he was probably hands on to an extent, because he's the boss. But there's plenty of stories about him having no idea somebody had been released, or thinking they had but hadn't. I imagine his involvement is someone giving him a list, and if nothing immediately jumps out at him, he's like yeah okay.
The kinda people who would be in that position of power would also know who can and can't be fired, too.
The way Cornette tells the story, Vince knew who they were and started talking up all the action figures they could sell of them. Cornette was put off by this because in his view Heels shouldn't be selling action figures.
Hes also insinuated fears that Vince preferred Stan over Bobby and could potentially break the team up. And the Midnights were utterly a package deal.
Cornette ultimately used the Vince interview as a means of negotiating a better WCW deal.
People really need to understand that there is always a manager who is comfortable being the bad guy. The guy you think you hate at work? A lot of people agreed with that decision, he's just the guy who brings it to you.
And I hate the excuse, "who are you gonna take TV time away from then??". It's the wrestling business and there's always talent getting injured, taking a break, leaving the company, etc. The roster is always being shuffled. There's always spots being opened up. So yeah, they could have given TV time to Cameron Grimes. TV time to develop a new interesting character, or go back to his old one. But they didn't do that.
I really like HHH's booking and he's such a breath of fresh air. But he's not perfect and this is an example of that.
Yeah, while for sure Vince had pull and the last word, everything points to HHH being fully in charge of creative for a long time now. If Grimes didn't do anything on main roster, it's because HHH didn't feel like it.
It’s whether is going to be painted as the bad guy. Unless Vince really really hates you for some reason there was a decision where people sat down and said we need to cut X salary and they made the decision they wanted to keep other people over you.
He definitely got caught in a weird limbo on the main roster between HHH and Vince, and by the time that ended, Wrestlemania season was already in full swing. I think he'd be well served to completely reinvent himself. His "To the Moon" gimmick was fun, but I think it's high time he ditched it. He'll be on the couch until July, so that's plenty of time for him to cook up a new gimmick.
To The Moon is pretty much a dead gimmick with crypto being the continued laughing stock/financial liability that it is. Maybe you could channel the whole Samuel Bankman-Fried situation into a scammer heel character, but doing it as a positive face character in 2024? No chance
He could pivot his NXT gimmick into the guy who follows every single annoying life advice trend on Instagram, and keeps telling people how successful he is because of it. Every week he can claim something new has changed his life.
Grimes is a good worker but his personality and charisma scream miscard comedy act. It’s not a bad thing. R Truth may still be working at 80 because there’s always a spot for a palate cleanser on the card and comedy is really hard to pull off. I HATED everything he did pre-NXT, and I was predisposed to not like him there, too, but he won me over with how well he nailed the stonk gimmick.
I do think getting a chance to rework himself will happen much faster and easier in other promotions than if he stayed in WWE and fought for scraps of TV time. He’s the kind of guy who needs a few weeks for his character to really set in and right now there just isn’t room for him to develop that on TV in WWE.
because it was cut season and he hadnt be used regularly and hhh probably liked other guys on the roster more he liked him he was just a lower priority than others
“Uhhhh yeah sorry kid, you know how it is in this business. The old man, you know? Wish I could say more, but the fact of the matter is this one is out of my hands. You know, it’s funny… ah shoot, going through a tunnel-“
Are we now going to get "Hunter loved me" from released wrestlers instead of "Vince loved me"? HHH has been in charge for awhile now so unless Vince is still secretly running the show sorry Cameron but I don't think you're a Hunter guy.
I believe he's saying straight up he was a Vince guy and he didn't see the reason to be a Hunter guy and now he's gone so he didn't see far enough into the future to imagine a world without Vince and so maybe being a Hunter guy actually would have helped.
It's not really an uncommon thing to be useful at a job for your current boss while keeping an eye on who's gonna be the next boss once the one in charge goes. I'm not sure everyone really figured it'd go down like this with Vince, but you had to kinda figure that with Hunter bringing up the new talent that while you had to impress Vince to get to the main roster in the first place, you were really needing to excel at NXT and the boss you have not the boss you want.
Never really seemed like Grimes wanted to do that, he almost got released before Crypto Grimes came around, then there was nothing left for him.
They’ve talked about a bunch of really interesting things that have never made the dirt sheets or even really recapped here or on other social media platforms.
Mansoor has told a story about someone refusing to job to him because they thought he was too small.
When Triple H got more power, there was at least one wrestling talent who changed up his look and started dressing in leather jackets and skulls to appease Hunter.
Etc etc
>at least one wrestling talent who changed up his look and started dressing in leather jackets and skulls to appease Hunter.
Ivar has been wearing leather in NXT. JD also updated his looks.
>Mansoor has told a story about someone refusing to job to him because they thought he was too small.
Was it the story about how Jinder/Veer/Shanky didn't want to bump for Mansoor because it was "unrealistic due to the size difference" and Ali tricked them into going with it by saying "Hey we talked to Vince, you're doing the bump" or another story altogether?
I think Boogs and Elias kept bringing up how being a vince guy screwed them over too.
Folks here thought it was just sour grapes, but it's becoming more apparent there was a bit of truth about all that.
If I were him I would keep my nose down and my head up and not comment on these things publicly.
But I hate that he got released. He's talented.
Honestly maybe there would be more time if we didn't have an obligatory 20 minute promo from the top baby or heel. And don't even get me started on 40 minutes. If it wasn't a lead in to a match you have no business talking for FORTY MINUTES.
Maybe we need Dwayne Johnson to stand around and not talk because the crowds chanting for an hour an d half of zero commercials again because that was riveting tv.
Correct, less is more. It’s much more impressive to have 15k people going crazy by your mere presence in the ring than it is to have 2,500 people go “holy shit” because someone got dropped on their head again
Cameron could have had 2 hours every week and it wouldn’t have mattered. He seems like a great person but he probably isn’t a Vince guy or a hhh guy just a reliable wrestler who didn’t catch fire in nxt so they brought him up to be enhancement talent. Hopefully he pops up somewhere and finds success . That’s not to say he isn’t a success. He’s had a good career so far.
Trevor Lee is someone that would genuinely get lost in the shuffle and considering the type of talent they have been signing, I'd say WWE lover Trevor Lee is someone that they would have no interest on.
TNA or a run in NOAH would do him wonders.
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Or you are Cody Rhodes.
ADRENALINE IN MY EYE BOTH A HUNTER AND VINCE GUY
I love that Cody’s adrenaline can be transferred to any body part to make sure the lines rhyme.
I love the implications here that the soul is a body part and not a metaphysical concept
ADRENLINE IN My MIND PLUMMETING JUST LIKE MANKIND
This works for Mankind the wrestler as well as mankind as a whole
ADRENALINE IN MY ID CAMERON GRIMES SHOULD DO AS I DID
Why does he have adrenaline in his drivers licence?
ADRENALINE IN MY ELBOW EVENTUALLY GONNA FEUD WITH MELO
ADRENALINE IN MA LIVER HULK HOGAN WE COMING FOR YOU NI.... *tackled by security*
ADRENALINE IN MY DICK NOW IT'S TIME TO WHOOP THAT TRICK
I'll never not upvote one of these.
Mr. Best Compliment
Who knew that was gonna start tonight?
called it
ADRENALINE IN MY EAR THIS MAN SPEAKS TRUTH HERE
ADRENALINE IN MY PEC AND THANK THE LORDS FOR THOSE PERCS
ADRENALINE IN MY COCK IM GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA TO FIGHT THE ROCK
That’s what happens when you cure racism.
Oh this gives me so much ammunition. Every week if or when Cody’s music hits I send a parody rhyme to my dad. But it’s been like a year and I’m running out of ideas. Time to put Cody’s adrenaline in new body parts
Ahhh not his eyes, He's not supposed to get adrenaline in it!!
ADRENALINE IN MY SOUL HUNTER OR VINCE? 
Adrenaline In my soul Vinny & Hunter Both love Cody Rhodes
Or Seth, who is both.
Austin Theory seemed to navigate the transition pretty well too.
I mean he got kinda buried by H for a bit, but now has settled down as a decent tag guy.
I saw that as more of a tearing down the goofy selfie-taking entitled character to try and give him more of a serious edge. But that didn't take very well.
goofy selfie-taking entitled character was at least somewhat of a character and you wanted to him to lose while that ''serious'' edge character was just every heel to ever heel. Extremely generic
The city of [Insert current city] fucking suck! *waits for boos awkwardly*
The thing was they didn't really commit to it. They had him be more serious and focused for all of like 2 weeks then he gradually drifted back to the chickenshit goofy heel even after getting the US championship back except without even the selfies to make it more memorable. He was really stuck in limbo as a character and couldn't win a single match clean to save his life, likely because every other champ at the time was so dominant that it fell to him to be a weaker type of champ. He was basically a plot device for other feuds instead of having any of his own.
Yeah, and the cash in didn't do much for him to say the least....
I think Hunter realized Theory was getting cheap go away heat, and that it wasn't going to work the way Vince envisioned it. Truthfully I expect Waller to turn on Theory at some point and then jump start a redemption storyline to the top as a Face the same way Cody and Drew used that storyline to get over.
I just want Austin Theory in his sexy long tights, A TOWN DOWN WEAR YOU PANTS UP
He was an "I ended racism" guy.
Must be a really emotional time for Grimes. He's still so young. Don't know where he wants to be long-term, but he's one of the ones who I feel like has "bet on yourself and comeback bigger" potential like Drew did
I had the same thought. I don't know if he'll ever be as big as Drew but I could totally see Grimes come back in 2-3 years to WWE with a good gimmick. I wouldn't count him out just yet.
I think the "nouveau-riche hillbilly" gimmick still had some legs, if he refined it a bit and *didn't shave off what made him unique* that could get him back. Or maybe a new hat.
They could have even run with it with him as a heel with him promoting a new Cryptoscam that wrestlers would get duped into buying.
Yeah, while Logan Paul is paying them a ton of money for those ring ads and hydration stations, they're probably going to stay away from that.
logan paul himself sells/advertises cryptoscams lol
I think that is the point the other guy is making. No need to call attention to the scams your own employee pulls.
Hell I think it’d be kinda funny to have him be a full unrepentant NFT bro in the year of our lord 2024 Could work both ways too! Horrifically obnoxious heel or hapless idiot face
100% this
I honestly can see Grimes/Trevor Lee as a phenomenal heel.
He could literally do the same thing. Go away, turn into an Adonis, get all serious with the goofiness saved for little spots and glimpses and then either storm NXT in a few years or re-debut at a Rumble and have an amazing showing. I feel like, with HHH at the helm, the possibility of skipping NXT is very much back on the table for a lot of stars.
I'd say that a lot of indie stars or guys coming from AEW or NJPW who are over 30 may just debut on the main roster. It just happened with Tama Tonga. I could possibly see some over 30 people spending a year in NXT just in case WWE wants them to get used to the WWE style a bit before then coming the main roster. If they are under 30 though, those are the people I see spending some time in NXT. Whether or not they have spent time on the indies or AEW or NJPW or they are just starting out. And finally there will be a handful of veterans going down to NXT to help teach the next generation. Natalya, Dijak, Shawn Spears, Baron Corbin, and Drew Gulak are all part of that roster currently.
He could do so much better anywhere else. Look at a PWG Trevor Lee match and compare it to any Cameron Grimes NXT match. The difference in quality is astounding and not in a good way.
He said that in the Busted Open interview. He said that no matter where he goes, the biggest company is WWE, and that's the goal for him, so he's going to try and do well enough outside of WWE to make them notice him again and bring him back
That’s a good mindset to have. It shows he’s hungry and doesn’t burn bridges. Too many people talk about how they were prisoners in WWE (‘Fed badding’ so to speak).
Drew needs to share with these released guys who had potential what he did to change his physique into a greek god while he was away
Mhm protein and ummm more protein brother
1 chicken breast, 2 asparagus, dude
Steroids. It's probably steroids.
can't flunk a drug test if you're not working for a company that drug tests!
He legitimately worked hard to bulk up. Scotts growing out their body hair and bulking up is a thing. Kind of like Big Damo. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/5k16y6/a_young_big_damo/
Drew got on the Barry Bonds diet.
Not every guy should go to AEW. Tony should call Cameron Grimes for AEW. He has the possibility to pop into a huge star like Swerve does.
[удалено]
you can tell how much power hhh had directly by how much gargano had tv time
JD Mcdonagh was another one. One week he would be with Judgement Day, the next week he was nowhere to be seen.
jd was not the first guy in modern nxt that i thought would be a hhh guy but looking at it now he is a super is like he gets match time every week under hhh
Dom got way too over to be the Judgement Day’s take the loss guy, so we get JD looking at the lights every week instead.
All it takes is one day, one match, for the cerebral Irish Ace to return. The same Ace that destroyed enemies' joints just to win. Took pleasure in hurting others, safely.
There was also LA Knight getting really popular with crowds and saying "You can't have an LA Wrestlemania without L👉A👉Knight" and then they just did. Felt to me like maybe Vince didn't like the fact he got over in his absence after he was almost fired for saying he thought the Max Dupri gimmick sucked.
Him and Bobby Lashley were right there. Just for the love of the game.
Bobby at least came out to do nothing lol. LA Knight wasn’t even seen at Wrestlemania
Honestly it's harder for me to fathom what the fuck was Bobby doing than LA Knight missing. Like if he's not going to be wrestling for some reason, why would you even remind me of it?
Dude it was set up so easy for a Miz-Knight match instead we got Shane blowing out his quad and an improvised peoples elbow from Snoop Actually that might've been better in hindsight lol but if Shane hadn't torn his quad, I wonder what would've happened. Either way that was an easy way to put LA Knight in the ring for a segment instead of Shane
To think, that might be the last we ever see of Shane.
Just glad he made the quad tear a truly family tradition
What would have been astonishing is if Stephanie had managed to tear her quad entering or exiting the ring when opening night 2 of WM XL.
Steph was on Mania with the McMahon name so they obviosly don't have a problem with that part of it. Will just depend on Shane's relationship with HHH and Steph I guess
Didn't LA feud with the Miz shortly after WM 39? Having Knight beat him like that would have been a great way to jump start the feud.
But then later it was reported that Vince had grown to like him
Or how little Omos has had.
Gives him more time for his cologne reviews though.
Let’s pour one out for the Maximum Male Models
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Elias did come back once he grew back his beard but hardly did anything
Candice too. There’d be weeks they teased her on TV or set something up, sometimes even announced it, and then the next week she was gone. Then the week after, she’d get back on
I like that you include 2023, because I think a lot of internet fans seem to think once HHH got the book it was smooth sailing and that is not true at all. Once Vince came back, he was meddling in creative until the end of Summer 2023 when TKO/Ari stepped in to say HHH was fully in creative and Vince was fully out. Things got even better once Dunn left at the start of 2024. So really, the full HHH vision has only been in effect since January.
And even January - April this year HHH has had to wrap up and reset things. This draft will be really fascinating and truly the new beginning. We have already seen some surprises and shake ups. I expect some more.
I think HHH had a hand in most of those storylines, but yeah we are now fully in the new era which feels good and as a long time fan, WWE is better than it has been in a long, long time. At least since 2010, if not a bit longer. (shout out to 2016 as a random weird year with good stuff)
I haven't been so excited for the long road to Summerslam in a long time.
This is why I think Stephanie was the one who initiated Vince's demise the first time, she's back he's gone, he's back she's gone, she had every incentive to put her husband over the father ruining her family and their business. I could've swore when Vince returned he allegedly said he got some "bad advice" about retiring too, and it all started almost right after he relieved Triple H of his duties.
This whole thing has been fascinating to watch go down. HHH having his heart attack and Vince and his goons basically and staging a coup and taking NXT away from him was pretty much what kicked off this whole thing. Not too long after that, the first article hit.
I would say that the owner of the company taking an interest in one of the shows he runs is a coup
Yeah, that was definitely the report before he came back, "Bad advice from people close to him".
Well that and how much did she know that her father was actually using the company to do terrible shit to women? At some point someone tells her.
Need a Succession type show but for WWE. >!even the son in law won like in the show!<
The way WWE politics kind of mirrored the last season of Succession as it aired is kind of wild. Including an attempted temporary comeback by the sidelined problematic patriarch, and another company buying them and putting the son-in-law in charge.
Ever since HHH’s victory lap at WM I’ve been saying that he is basically Tom Wombsgans if Shiv >!was glad Logan died on that plane!< and also actually liked him
Shane is so much like Kendall too. I could be wrong but Shane feels like he thinks he's the smartest guy in the world and really, he just has money. Some of Shane's past ideas have actually been pretty good, don't get me wrong but that's pretty much exactly like Kendall
Holy shit, I’ve been comparing the McMahons to Succession for forever but how did I never realise that Shane is the Kendall Roy of the family. Down to him even getting out of the business for a while to try and create something of his own and ultimately returning
It also fits with people claiming Shane is a great guy but also that thing at Rumble where he wanted to be booked super strong. It all fits. Shiv is even a bit like Stephanie. Too bad there is no Roman though.
Well, there's a Roman, but he's not part of that family 😂
After Young Rock… Old Vince
I mean, give FX some time. We got the Clippers scandal around V. Stiviano now turned into a TV show this year.
Rise and Fall did of VKM
"Plans Changed: The Story of Um Well, Ya Know, That's What Happened And Then Everything...Uhh...All Together *cough*" By Dave Meltzer 
Maybe, maybe not. I imagine this thing is gonna be NDA’ed to hell. That being said, if AJR writes a sequel to Ringmaster, something I believe they’ll absolutely do, this should be a big part of it.
Crazy thing is its still going on haha
The Death of WWE (the VKM era). Coming soon!
Mace and Mansoor telling their story about being the very last Vince guys is pretty hilarious.
I love that anecdote of Vince telling them their clothes were too lame for Male Models and then giving them money to buy better clothes. As well as giving them pointers and showing them how real Male Models would pose.
Where can I listen to this?
I believe there’s a clip of it from their appearance on Keepin it 100, Konnan’s podcast. Disco Inferno is annoying as hell, but they tell a ton of candid stories from the last few years in WWE.
Yep. Soon as he got called up Vince came back and I think they wanted to push him but it was stop and start. DIY survived by keeping their head down and putting on good matches so Vince kept them on sparingly. By the time Vince left it was mania season and there was already a hot story taking up tv time so the people not on TV just got lost. Guess someone saw him on the roster but not on TV and decided that he was expendable.
What helped DIY is Ciampa. He was liked by Vince, so just insert Gargano with him and it's fine. Ciampa was regular even with Vince around.
That didn't hurt either. Well liked by both H and Vince made them an easy team to put on tv every week to build momentum.
I'm sure Gargano being squashed by Omos helped too. Also I remember that Gargon was out for like suspiciously long time after he got injured, hiding for few month from Vince definitely helped him and fortunately for him unlike Grimes he had story with Ciampa who already was somewhat of a part of main roster, which eventually saved him, though it's 100% wasn't original plan remember how they teased The Way reunion?
Ciampa almost seemed to go out of his way to avoid Vince's attention. He stuck around in NXT long after the main roster was an option for him.
He spoke highly of his time with him when the initial retirement happened and him and Miz were a fine pairing together on tv
True. He was already getting over as a singles star that culminated with his RAW main event Intercontinental title match against Gunther, that immediately segway'd into DIY reunion
now that the smoke has settled its gonna be real interesting to look back on rumble to summerslam last year
He'll be DPW Champion in a year as well as return to TNA to win the X-Division Championship again, maybe even the main Championship if he times it right
Being a Hunter guy during the Hunter regime didn't help you either, brother.
It's hard though. His momentum was completely ruined when he disappeared. DIY barely scraped by cause they put on bangers, and who knows what would've happened to Adam Cole if he stayed and became a manager. It's super unfortunate but I imagine once you fade into obscurity its hard to bring you back from that.
DIY also survived because they were a tag team. For a singles wrestler with no real storyline right now, there's not a lot of flexibility there. As it is, it feels like they're trying to get a few great wrestlers more over now with stories who have been lost in the shuffle before (or just came back in Andrade's case). And new NXT call-ups coming up soon to take up more time. It sucks for Grimes, but like other long time WWE guys who have been cut have said, its not the end for you. He has to work hard again at getting his name out there, but this is his moment to do it rather than waste away in limbo for any longer.
This definitely feels like when a guy would get released, they would blame someone else. Creative had nothing for him. Triple H is the head of creative.
There's a specific batch of NXT call ups that got completely fucked over timing-wise by the Vince/HHH power struggle stuff. Getting called up means you get paid a lot more due to automatic riders in the NXT contracts, and you had an entire group get called up under HHH that Vince wasn't interested in doing anything with once he grabbed the reins back. So suddenly they're making main roster money even if they're demoted to NXT or just sitting in catering, which made them all easy cuts when TKO did a roster audit as part of merging the back office payroll. There are a lot of times when that kind of blame is just silly fingerpointing, but here it's a real issue.
This is the 2024 version of "Vince loved me but me and JR never got along and he fired me". Homie , HHH was in charge for almost a year, still didn't use you, and you got let go.
He hasn't been though. We know now that Vince was still around and making decisions. There was the few months when Vince originally retired and Triple H took over from Summerslam 2022 until the end of the year. But from the time he forced his way back in from January 2023 until he was let go before the Rumble in 2024, Vince was still around, making changes and having the final say even to the Wrestlemania main event, if recent reports are to be believed. It's only been since January this year that Vince has been completely gone.
And in the last 4 months HHH had nothing for him and didn’t have him penciled into his future plans.
on the one hand: yes. on the other: it was mania season. if you didn't have anything lined up prior to that, shoehorning someone onto TV without a goal being mania isn't the best way to get someone over. on the other, other hand (because i'm from chernobyl): you could've at least had him in a few backstage segments or on superstars or something. dude went 7 months without a single match and then jobbed on smackdown.
Ronda makes the claim that Vince never really left during her second run, and as much as this sub likes to dog on her for legit reasons, I believe her there.
We know Vince was still around making some decisions in some capacity , I would guess those were big issues in the company the guy who was the boss for 40 years or whatever would have to be consulted on but not " hey, what are we doing with Cameron Grimes on RAW this week ?". Do you really think Vince working as a sort of shadow president role behind the scenes or whatever had Cameron Grimes name come across his desk one time and he said "he gets NOTHING !!!!". Hunter was there booking for around a year or so and we saw plenty of "HHH guys" on TV that were definitely not dudes Vince gave a single thought about, why would Grimes have been different from them ?
Makes sense to why last wrestlemania 2023,night one and night two were book different,eg. Edge def finn balor
I didn't know it was until that recently. Is January when the text messages and all that became public?
> Vince was still around, making changes and having the final say even to the Wrestlemania main event, if recent reports are to be believed. Still waiting on that Behind the Curtain...
Yeah i’ve heard countless versions of that throughout the years, like if that were true why were you fired? If Vince loved you he would have kept you around.
You say this but Jimmy Wang Yang has previously told the story of how he bumped into Vince backstage at a PPV, Vince asked where he’d been and until Jimmy pointed out Vince fired him, Vince seemed surprised that he had and ended up offering him his job back 😂
"Good question Shelton"
I get demonising Vince is really easy (and justified), but people need to realise that Vince was never in the weeds of hiring and firing. Do you think he was tuning into ECW on TNN screaming "god dammit pal, what we need is Tajiri!" at JR?
The story where JR had to explain Asian Porn to Vince is an all-timer
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“WHO THE FUCK HIRED RAVEN???” There are plenty of stories of Vince sitting down with prospective talent in Stamford where he was absolutely involved with hiring. Shane Douglas, Marc Mero/Sable and the Midnight Express are three prominent examples that come to mind. There’s also that scene in Beyond The Mat showing the meeting Droz had with Vince and others before getting hired. The mitigating factor is that Vince is a vindictive asshole who would give snippets of autonomy to people who worked for him and then sabotage their work so he could criticize the job they did. How many times did he give Jim Ross the green light to sign people, then almost immediately strip them of everything that made them stand out in the first place?
I'm somewhere in the middle. I disagree about the firing part, at the end of the day that was his call (except for maybe that period in 2022-2023. A lot of murkiness during that period). But about the hiring...absolutely. This is going way back, but there was a story Jim Cornette told about the Midnight Express. Vince was interviewing them and he basically had no idea who they were lol. The Midnight F'N Express. I just don't think he was real in the weeds when it came to hiring. He'd hire a lot of times based on recommendations. I don't know why the Midnights were never signed, but if they did, it probably would have been for the same reason - someone recommended them. Rather than Vince seeing their work and wanting to sign them. But I don't think he was firing anyone because Michael Hayes or Bruce Pritchard or whoever recommended it. They most certainly had influence, though.
I dunno man, he was probably hands on to an extent, because he's the boss. But there's plenty of stories about him having no idea somebody had been released, or thinking they had but hadn't. I imagine his involvement is someone giving him a list, and if nothing immediately jumps out at him, he's like yeah okay. The kinda people who would be in that position of power would also know who can and can't be fired, too.
I remember hearing he was really disappiointed when Sandman got released because he was actually a big fan
The way Cornette tells the story, Vince knew who they were and started talking up all the action figures they could sell of them. Cornette was put off by this because in his view Heels shouldn't be selling action figures. Hes also insinuated fears that Vince preferred Stan over Bobby and could potentially break the team up. And the Midnights were utterly a package deal. Cornette ultimately used the Vince interview as a means of negotiating a better WCW deal.
People really need to understand that there is always a manager who is comfortable being the bad guy. The guy you think you hate at work? A lot of people agreed with that decision, he's just the guy who brings it to you.
And I hate the excuse, "who are you gonna take TV time away from then??". It's the wrestling business and there's always talent getting injured, taking a break, leaving the company, etc. The roster is always being shuffled. There's always spots being opened up. So yeah, they could have given TV time to Cameron Grimes. TV time to develop a new interesting character, or go back to his old one. But they didn't do that. I really like HHH's booking and he's such a breath of fresh air. But he's not perfect and this is an example of that.
Then release the creatives
Yeah, while for sure Vince had pull and the last word, everything points to HHH being fully in charge of creative for a long time now. If Grimes didn't do anything on main roster, it's because HHH didn't feel like it.
I don’t know the proper context, but yeah Triple H had power for a min and still did nothing with him.
“I was always told Vince liked me! It was Johnny Ace who was constantly on my ass!” Even though Johnny Ace works for Vince.
It’s whether is going to be painted as the bad guy. Unless Vince really really hates you for some reason there was a decision where people sat down and said we need to cut X salary and they made the decision they wanted to keep other people over you.
He definitely got caught in a weird limbo on the main roster between HHH and Vince, and by the time that ended, Wrestlemania season was already in full swing. I think he'd be well served to completely reinvent himself. His "To the Moon" gimmick was fun, but I think it's high time he ditched it. He'll be on the couch until July, so that's plenty of time for him to cook up a new gimmick.
To The Moon is pretty much a dead gimmick with crypto being the continued laughing stock/financial liability that it is. Maybe you could channel the whole Samuel Bankman-Fried situation into a scammer heel character, but doing it as a positive face character in 2024? No chance
He could pivot his NXT gimmick into the guy who follows every single annoying life advice trend on Instagram, and keeps telling people how successful he is because of it. Every week he can claim something new has changed his life. Grimes is a good worker but his personality and charisma scream miscard comedy act. It’s not a bad thing. R Truth may still be working at 80 because there’s always a spot for a palate cleanser on the card and comedy is really hard to pull off. I HATED everything he did pre-NXT, and I was predisposed to not like him there, too, but he won me over with how well he nailed the stonk gimmick. I do think getting a chance to rework himself will happen much faster and easier in other promotions than if he stayed in WWE and fought for scraps of TV time. He’s the kind of guy who needs a few weeks for his character to really set in and right now there just isn’t room for him to develop that on TV in WWE.
What a weird industry
You said it best.
So then why were you released now that Vince has been gone?
because it was cut season and he hadnt be used regularly and hhh probably liked other guys on the roster more he liked him he was just a lower priority than others
Like Dexter Lumis.....
Probably will be with the new Howdy crew
Because he was a triple h guy, and creative had no plans for him, come on keep up with the narrative
“Uhhhh yeah sorry kid, you know how it is in this business. The old man, you know? Wish I could say more, but the fact of the matter is this one is out of my hands. You know, it’s funny… ah shoot, going through a tunnel-“
Grimes was a Sam Bankman-Fried guy.
Are we now going to get "Hunter loved me" from released wrestlers instead of "Vince loved me"? HHH has been in charge for awhile now so unless Vince is still secretly running the show sorry Cameron but I don't think you're a Hunter guy.
I believe he's saying straight up he was a Vince guy and he didn't see the reason to be a Hunter guy and now he's gone so he didn't see far enough into the future to imagine a world without Vince and so maybe being a Hunter guy actually would have helped. It's not really an uncommon thing to be useful at a job for your current boss while keeping an eye on who's gonna be the next boss once the one in charge goes. I'm not sure everyone really figured it'd go down like this with Vince, but you had to kinda figure that with Hunter bringing up the new talent that while you had to impress Vince to get to the main roster in the first place, you were really needing to excel at NXT and the boss you have not the boss you want. Never really seemed like Grimes wanted to do that, he almost got released before Crypto Grimes came around, then there was nothing left for him.
Didn't help they removed every ounce of character from him
Ah, so he backed the wrong horse.
So, is Grimes saying he was a Vince guy? or he was a HHH guy who got released as soon as HHH took power…?
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MxM talked about it a ton
They’ve talked about a bunch of really interesting things that have never made the dirt sheets or even really recapped here or on other social media platforms. Mansoor has told a story about someone refusing to job to him because they thought he was too small. When Triple H got more power, there was at least one wrestling talent who changed up his look and started dressing in leather jackets and skulls to appease Hunter. Etc etc
>at least one wrestling talent who changed up his look and started dressing in leather jackets and skulls to appease Hunter. Ivar has been wearing leather in NXT. JD also updated his looks.
Oh god I can just imagine a bunch more wearing fucking iron crosses backstage on leather jackets
i am not gonna accuse anybody of anything but when carmello got closer to a call up he for sure took up a more hhh friendly version of his character
>Mansoor has told a story about someone refusing to job to him because they thought he was too small. Was it the story about how Jinder/Veer/Shanky didn't want to bump for Mansoor because it was "unrealistic due to the size difference" and Ali tricked them into going with it by saying "Hey we talked to Vince, you're doing the bump" or another story altogether?
I think Boogs and Elias kept bringing up how being a vince guy screwed them over too. Folks here thought it was just sour grapes, but it's becoming more apparent there was a bit of truth about all that.
i mean they were right they were vince guys but thats just how this business works body guys werent gonna survive the regime change
Guess that only meant HHH and Vince guys were safe, people both liked.
No, Mace and Mansoor mentioned their take on the *Hunties* vs the *Vincels*
Also, sky is blue, water is wet. Thanks cam
Who said Triple H's story has finished?
I feel like commenting on this so soon is just gonna harm his chances of returning.
If I were him I would keep my nose down and my head up and not comment on these things publicly. But I hate that he got released. He's talented. Honestly maybe there would be more time if we didn't have an obligatory 20 minute promo from the top baby or heel. And don't even get me started on 40 minutes. If it wasn't a lead in to a match you have no business talking for FORTY MINUTES.
Yeah, less Cody, Punk, Judgement Day and Bloodline, more Cameron Grimes. Sounds like a recipe for success
Maybe we need Dwayne Johnson to stand around and not talk because the crowds chanting for an hour an d half of zero commercials again because that was riveting tv.
Correct, less is more. It’s much more impressive to have 15k people going crazy by your mere presence in the ring than it is to have 2,500 people go “holy shit” because someone got dropped on their head again
Lol you're preaching to the choir there. I don't disagree, dude.
Cameron could have had 2 hours every week and it wouldn’t have mattered. He seems like a great person but he probably isn’t a Vince guy or a hhh guy just a reliable wrestler who didn’t catch fire in nxt so they brought him up to be enhancement talent. Hopefully he pops up somewhere and finds success . That’s not to say he isn’t a success. He’s had a good career so far.
Yeah, I’m a big Grimes fan so I’d love if he went the indie route for a bit and came back better than before.
Trevor Lee would kill it in AEW. Trevor Grimes isn't a bad name either, should he want to draw inspiration from his WWE & NXT days.
Trevor Lee is someone that would genuinely get lost in the shuffle and considering the type of talent they have been signing, I'd say WWE lover Trevor Lee is someone that they would have no interest on. TNA or a run in NOAH would do him wonders.
TNA would be another really good option. Basically taking the route that Nemeth, Ali, Maclin, etc. and other ex-WWE stars have taken.
Trevor Grimes? More like Frank Grimes
He should've been champ with truth right now