WWE/Vince McMahon Sex Trafficking Allegations (CW: Sexual Assault, etc.)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > WWE/Vince McMahon Sex Trafficking Allegations (CW: Sexual Assault, etc.)

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

Rarity posted:

You're right, MRT should start a podcast

All right, fine, I'll be his cohost.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2024 20:42

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 18:54

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

Sydney Bottocks posted:

John Laurinaitis turning into Henry Hill is not an angle I expected this saga to take, but I'm here for it

I don't know who makes for a better Pesci walking into the empty room, Dunn or Hunter.

# ¿ Feb 1, 2024 22:54

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

kalensc posted:

First, gently caress Jean-Paul Levesque for being an aider and abettor of VKM and other loathsome creatures in the WWF/E. Investigate him, charge him, prosecute him, file civil cases against him, and redistribute his blood money to the victims of his family's crimes.

Second,

So HHH spends a quarter-century-plus being the ultimate company man, accrues influence in backstage politics, and marries the bosses' daughter. Blows out his quad, comes back a lesser performer, and outlasts most of his contemporaries in-ring. Throughout all this he's either complicit or intentionally 'ignorant' about most/all the godawful stuff described in this thread.

He finally gets a chance to cut his teeth booking a show, and it's actually quite good! Until it's expanded, used as an attempted counter-program to AEW, and finally re-imagined by VKM's lapdogs with Hunter being reassigned, essentially. Then he had a significant heart attack and nearly dies, but recovers enough to return to his duties in under a year.

Finally, the father-in-law who was responsible for HHH's power and privilege (and presumably a vile rear end in a top hat as a boss and FIL) has his first reckoning, resignation, then sudden return and coup of the Board (including HHH). The company (which he must at some point have envisioned being partially inherited by Steph/himself) is sold off in a deal which brings them under the scrutiny and influence of Ari & co, outsiders who HHH presumably know IRL but with whom he has not fostered decades of leverage and status.

And finally, just as the calendar flips over to 2024, he receives word that the Main Event of Wrestlemania has been booked by the money men who haven't dedicated their lives to the business. Who have they inserted into the headlining match? Why, it's the guy who started his wrestling career alongside HHH, who skyrocketed with Austin to become The faces of the business, and headlined the biggest shows during the biggest boom the business ever experienced, before stepping away from WWE to become a legit movie star and actual mainstream celebrity.

For nearly twenty years, Dwayne had succeeded in ways HHH must have envied, but at least Hunter had his key role in Vince's fiefdom, and when 2024 began was ensconced in his booking role, where he could envision decades as The Creator of the on-screen product.

Except no, the folks who run the larger company which bought out the WWE have decided that his former colleague, the guy who left 20 years ago, is who they want to install as the figurehead of The Brand. And to make the change resonate on-screen in addition to quarterly filings and press junkets, The Rock will be challenging Roman at WM40, with The Rock and Ari and others demonstrating they'll exert their influence over the booking at will. The number crunchers in the business world have read the tea leaves and believe Dwayne is the man, and Cody and Punk and whoever else are lessers.

HHH opting to do nothing, to book the Rumble as if he had full control, and allow Cody to call Roman out to a huge pop, is arguably the most believable reaction for him to have. It's spiteful to an extent, but Ari and The Rock would have their plan enacted regardless. This way, HHH gets to maximize his ability to deflect locker room frustrations to the suits in Vegas, and he gets to hear the fanbase turn against The Rock as a sort of personal validation.

In a business as hosed up and toxic as professional wrestling, nearly everything will come down to entitled warped men acting on greed, ego, and impulsive emotions.

What interests me with the Rock situation is that it's reminiscent of what was happening before Vince went away the first time. Nick Khan was taking control and was making decisions based on cold business. Cold business that does not care about wrestling logic. It works in a way that Triple H, Tony Khan, and usually even Vince don't. It doesn't care if they're releasing a wrestler who is advertised for the next night's show. They don't care what storylines need to be wrapped up, even abruptly. They don't care how high up the card Braun Strowman is. It's the kind of logic that gave us the Radicalz. Hell, Nick Khan probably would have told Ultimate Warrior to go home before Summerslam 91. He wouldn't have cared if Jeff Jarrett still had the Intercontinental Championship without a contract.

Triple H survived that kind of thing (even in the sense that it almost literally killed him) and almost came out completely on top by outlasting Vince. But now the same kind of situation is screwing with him, only instead of Nick Khan working alongside a crazy person who at least considers Triple H family, he's dealing with someone sane who probably doesn't think highly of Triple H on a personal level. And he's on a board of people based on this cold business logic.

With his probable ties to Vince looming and what seems to be a struggle with the Rock and friends, Triple H is in danger of seriously eating poo poo, which is pretty funny when you realize that WrestleMania 40 was pretty much going to be his moment of glory.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2024 20:38

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

Never thought I'd see the day where I'd want to hear Johnny talk.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2024 20:45

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

The scenes of Peacemaker defending his father hit really different.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2024 16:52

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

I feel like Orton gave what would have been the best response for any top-level WWE guy so far, but it falls flat because it's Orton saying it.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2024 20:13

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

I always liked the Owen prank from when wrestlers were recording their lines for WWF Attitude (maybe Warzone). Owen explained to the guys there that British Bulldog was illiterate and was very sensitive about it. So they had Bulldog in the booth and they kept telling him his lines and asking him to repeat them into the mic. Eventually, Bulldog got so frustrated and yelled, "Jesus Christ, just write them down!" and everyone realized what was going on.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2024 16:13

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

Lamuella posted:

wasn't his brother named as an abuser even prior to Speaking Out?

Yeah, Rory was a trainer and his behavior was so gross that Quack had to get rid of him. Considering how the big part of Speaking Out/Chikara was that Quack was turning a blind eye to what his trainers were up to, that says a lot.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2024 13:37

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

MassRafTer posted:

https://twitter.com/POSTwrestling/status/1777024370981921003

R-Truth showed his support of this too.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2024 20:13

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

OH MY GOD!

SCRUUUUUUM!!

# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 12:49

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 18:54

Gavok: Oct 10, 2005; Brock! Oh, man, I'm sorry about your...

...tooth?

Always a fan of this tweet.

https://twitter.com/TheRealXPac/status/1743842082786275400

# ¿ May 6, 2024 19:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > WWE/Vince McMahon Sex Trafficking Allegations (CW: Sexual Assault, etc.)