The Unknown Poster

Meet the new raw, same as the old raw. Only with more McMahon’s. Oy vey

Ridiculous

The ideal scenario if you're these guys is, you keep New Japan, you keep all the indy/outside bookings you want. But in the US, instead of being exclusive to ROH, you own your own promotion. WWE can outbid anyone, including your own dreams. But they've never been one to *want* to do that...they have a pay structure (thats far less than all major sports revenue splits) and arent going to guarantee Kenny, Cody and the Bucks several million dollars. Plus you then have them merchandising you. And if you dont have creative control, that impacts everything else (how well your merch sells, how much your draw in outside bookings). In WWE you cant get your own side gigs. Kenny has many endorsements and has done some acting appearances. Cody wants to do that too. You cant in WWE...unless you have a unique deal. From what I understand, there are "unique deals" being talked about. But who really knows...other then the Elite.

Controlling their own destinies and making lots of money would be the reason. There are three possibilities: 1) its real and they will get a good TV deal 2) its real but they wont get a TV deal 3) its a swerve. Anyone with any sort of content, now is the time to try and cash in. Networks, streaming platforms etc are begging for content, especially DVR-proof content like "sports". Its why there are multiple football leagues looking to start up suddenly. its why UFC was bought for a huge price. its why other MMA groups are trying to make a go of it. Even Impact is out there having talks with multiple networks. What hurts ROH is lack of support from their parent company Sinclair who has more money than WWE and a built in massive syndication network. ROH has a ceiling, imposed upon it by Sinclair. You're 100% correct that losing the Elite guys definitely hurts what ROH is right now. And PCO isnt a suitable replacement (they also signed Bandido who is awesome). How much it hurts New Japan is open to debate. New Japan is really successful and far more successful in Japan than WWE. Of course, on a world wide basis, its a fraction of what WWE is. If New Japan was serious about it's US expansion, then losing the Elite guys hurts. But there has always been a debate over presenting an Americanized New Japan or a traditional New Japan when running shows in the US. The key thing is, all the Elite guys still want to work for New Japan. And since New Japan isnt US-based, its entirely possible they'd keep booking them. The decision will come when/if AEW becomes a real thing and ROH wants New Japan to maintain their relationship. New Japan might have to choose between ROH and AEW and likely chooses AEW. Even now, they wont let their guys work Impact. The Elite guys look at All In, the increase in ROH attendance when the Bucks & Cody appeared (and especially Kenny which set records) and the ROH/New Japan/MSG show and think its time to strike while the iron is hot. The idea against it is, why not just go to WWE and make money. The problem is, you sell your soul to go to WWE. You have to be where they tell you to be, do what they tell you do. Put up with their crappy booking and house show schedule. For most guys, its the most money they'll ever make. But if you're one of the few where you make a ton of money without going to WWE...and in fact, you make more merchandising yourself than if WWE merchandised you (outside of the top 3-5 guys), in some ways you're taking a cut to go. If you make a million dollars (just using it as a round number) and control everything about your life and career, but could make 1.5 million to have no control and risk being miserable, how much is enough money to not go? Its hard to say because its been a long time since there was this option where the top free agents were all saying they'd negotiate together, plus you seemingly have an uber fan who is a billionaire plus lots of TV money out there for the taking and you're in the prime of your career...where if it doesnt work out, you can make a different decision in 2-3 years. The third option...I had heard that WWE not only had deals on the table for the Elite but a major angle in mind and it would essentially be an invasion. I suppose you could invade with just a group of 4-5 guys (like the Nexus) but if you had some legitimacy behind you as if you were your own group it could only help. What if All Elite Wrestling trademarks being filed is legit in the sense these guys will own it and their deal with WWE includes an invasion with realism up to and including them running their own PPV (All In 2) to create the aura of competition. Think, Heyman's ECW which was legit competition but worked with WWE to a degree.

Wasnt this reported and the Flyers literally just came out and said it was totally untrue? What a shitshow.

Depends on the union. There arent many unionized restaurants but there are a handful. It will take some quality management to keep costs under control. Its not like the demands will include $15/hour. Industry standard is minimum wage and tips. They might get a $1 more (to cover union dues). But all the things the staff complained about...hours being changed on a whim, no breaks, etc...easily accomplished. When I worked for a restaurant, there was no reason to unionize because we were treated fairly. If Stella's has been as successful as they'd make you think (and let's be honest, they were always busy any time I went there), they can absorb some expenses from their own mistakes.

They're not going to start closing Stella's over that. Not with all this spotlight on them. If 2 locations unionize, they all will and Stella's will just have to accept it.

XFL more interested in Seattle as a TV market than walk up market.

Scheif for Hart.

It was no surprise when the story hit. We're not avid Stella's customers but it seemed like an open secret for years that it was an awful place to work. I believe Boon Burger is owned by the same family (brother I think) and had similar issues - arrogant ownership. If I owned a restaurant/lounge/bar I'd be hypersensitive to issues like this because the general culture lends itself to a lot of issues. That doesnt mean its to be expected, but you have to be professional from the top down. And it was clear in the case of Stella's that wasnt happening. Now, they've got at least two locations on the verge of unionizing. And the employee group behind it makes a solid case, that one of the owners being a WestJet pilot is part of a union so surely he wouldn't oppose his own business being unionized. lol

This tells you all you need to know about trumps thought process. He knows he’s all but finished.

Uh oh

I can’t believe they’re going to deflect over this little girls death. Nielsen will be tossed

Rudy is so dumb thats exactly what he said. Its not a big crime. So the President's lawyer publicly admitted the President committed a "small" crime.

Ofcourse

Could be something related. Could be unrelated. Idle speculation it might involve pence or White House lawyers

Oops

KellyAnne tried to hang that around Cuomo's neck on CNN and he blew it off saying yeah of course I benefited from the Trump tax cut...thats the problem, its for people like me who do very well.

Im no lawyer but yes. I saw a little bit of chatter about that but not much. I believe its been used before (I saw a L&O episode about it) where they had DNA of a rapist but no identity so they did a John Doe indictment to kill the Statute of Limitations issue. It was based on a true story as I recall. So they could. I think the issue is the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting President. That's not supported by the Constitution at all so you'll see Dems who will want to challenge it. But I would think a sealed indictment satisfies all issues. But the DOJ has to allow it and if they feel an indictment, sealed or not, is not permissible, they wont.

Everyone desperate to create content for a streaming world. Not sure if we debated it here but I know in discussing Star Trek on some Trek sites, there were fans angry at CBS for putting Discovery on All Access, saying its worthless to launch a streaming service now. Everyone will have a streaming option. Everything will be delivered via the internet in time. Its also why you see sports organizations popping up. MMA group ONE signing a significant deal. The two or three impending football leagues in the US. Content is king.

CNN does it because they are trying to be fair and give time to the "other side". Don Lemon and Cuomo had a discussion about this after Kellyanne's appearance last night. Don feels as you do that its a waste of time because Kellyanne just repeats the lies and essentially does propaganda work. She doesnt have a good faith discussion about policy and issues. I guess it depends on the strength of the host. Cuomo is very good. Don isnt as good although I like his show (he wears his emotions on his sleeve more than Cuomo).

At some point Trump might even have a presser (though as a coward he'd probably send Rudy out to say this and then act like it was always the case) where he admits to nailing the women and wanting to spare his poor wife embarrassment. His real plan is to beat the Statute of Limitations. He's going to end up on trial for campaign finance violations (just like Edwards did) unless he makes a deal or beats the SoL. If I recall, it runs out 2021 so if he wins the next election, he's off the finance violations. if he loses, he's probably immediately charged. Ofcourse, that is unless there is political will to challenge the DOJ policy of not indicting a sitting President. Which, to be honest, is pretty stupid. You should be able to indict a President and I saw one Senator say, if the President's argument is an indictment makes it impossible to carry out his duties, then thats what the 25th Amendment is for. He can step down temporarily until the issue is resolved.