I think in a year or two ... I'm pretty much out of Professional Wrestling altogether, no ROH, AEW, and anything else. Gave up IMPACT Wrestling and Lucha Underground altogether. I've stopped AEW two weeks ago and sticking with NWA Powerrr and ROH for now.

I just scream at the TV (don't take that literally) when I watch DVDs and the like - and a host will say something like, "Hulk Hogan put his WWE Championship on the line against Andre the Giant at WM III..."

No! He didn't!!! There was no WWE Championship then. Come on, don't let pre-2002 history be wiped out due to the court case involving the panda charity. There was a WWF prior to 2002, and it frustrates a pedantic fool like me to hear about a so-called WWE title defence in 1985 or 1990. As there was no WWE then, commentators should refer to it as the WWF.

I hated it when they changed the name to WWE in May 2002. I will never accept it. It'll always be the WWF to me. WWE doesn't even sound right to my ears.

I'm sure he does.

I thought "WWE" would grow on me. It's been 17 years. It hasn't. I mean, what rolls off the tongue more naturally after the word "the"? "The WWE.." or "The WWF." A federation is a legal entity. It makes sense to say "The World Wrestling Federation is coming to town..." It does not sound right to say "The World Wrestling Entertainment is coming to town..." The word "entertainment" just does not work as a noun for me. After seventeen years, it has never sounded right.

Sure, I accept that that is what it is. And it certainly makes sense for McMahon's company to refer to itself as the name it is now. But for Pete's sake, I do wish magazines and documentaries would refer to its pre-WWE name accurately! I always used to refer to it as the WWWF if I was discussing 1960s or 1970s facts. I don't like seeing magazines refer to the "WWE bout between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy" or talk about how "WWE battled WCW in the 90s". Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is important to me, guys. Think of me as being akin to George Taylor rallying against ape society in Planet of the Apes...

Well, that logo was the problem, as the World Wildlife Fun beat them to the punch for trademarking the initials "WWF." They could have continued to call themselves the World Wrestling Federation; but, they wouldn't have been able to use the logo. ironically, they started out as the WWWF, the World Wide Wrestling Federation; so they could have gone that route. Thing of it is, the WWF was never actually the legal name for the company. Under Vince Sr it was Capitol Sports and under Jr, it was Titan Sports, until 1998, when they changed to World Wrestling Federation Inc, then the lawsuit forced them to change to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Most promotions operated under names that were different than the fans or magazines used.

Central States (Kansas City) was Heart of America Sports Attractions.
Mid-Atlantic was Jim Crockett Promotions.
Georgia Championship Wrestling was ABC Booking, then Mid-South Sports, then Georgia Championship Wrestling.
The AWA was the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club.

What I find ridiculous is that Vince is obsessed with not using the word "wrestling," yet he kept that as part of the company name. I'm surprised he didn't change it to the WSE, World Sports Entertainment. I mean, how silly is it that the world's most successful pro wrestling promoter is ashamed of being a wrestling promoter? You can call it Dudes Rolling Around in their Underwear; but, it's still pro wrestling to the world.

Vince really needs therapy.

Vince has always had bigger dreams (some might call them delusions of grandeur) about his company. Coming up in the era of the territory system, with small-time TV deals with local stations and guys who were brawlers or had been high-school wrestlers, he envisioned more for himself. It's why he latched onto Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, etc. Vince wanted "personalities" and "entertainers" that would appeal to women and kids, more then just the male-dominated audiences he'd grown up around, because widespread appeal meant bigger TV contracts and merchandising and endorsement opportunities for his performers that wouldn't be possible with just a roster of "wrestlers".

Gotta cut this thought short, as the wife just called me down for dinner (Thursdays are one of her nights to cook), but I have some more ideas I might post later.

Dave Meltzer, on Wrestling Observer Radio weighs in on Cornette leaving the NWA....



Takes Dave 20 meandering minutes (Dave's not a "get to the point" kind of guy) to make the point I did, that everyone involved was fine with his comment until after it aired and they got backlash. He says Lagana deserves a lot of the blame, at the end, but stops short of pointing out how they have pushed all the heat onto Cornette and not accepted blame for letting it air and have only said they will scrutinize their shows more, going forward. Typical corporate answer that flies against their supposed outlyer status. As Harry Truman's desk plate said, "The Buck Stops Here." It's your company, you are responsible for everything. If something goes wrong, you are to blame. They are not wrong in separating from Cornette, regardless of whose decision it was (probably a joint "I quit! You're fired!"). They are wrong in not accepting ultimate blame. What apology they did make was hollow and just pointed fingers at Cornette. As Dave said, Cornette used an old school wrestling line, off the cuff, in an era where it wouldn't fly and in a context that wouldn't fly. In the old days, it would have drawn heat from some of the crowd; but that was Cornette's job and wrestling was always about drawing heat and selling tickets than being sensitive to image and the audience's feelings. Had he not already been getting heat from AEW fans and conservatives for his podcasts, this would probably be a smaller story, a quick apology and forgotten in six weeks. Dave is also right that Cornette will probably not apologize for the racial elements to the remark and instead try to defend it as to context or "stupid people not getting it." Stand-up comedians says worse things all of the time; but, they are rarely on a national platform when they do. Politicians say far worse things, in more couched language, as we have seen (and some, like the orange dude, in not so couched language).

Corny needs to learn what I had to, when I was going nuts over politics and the endless wars and the corporate world; just stick with the things that bring you joy and do your best to minimalize the things that bring you stress. Modern wrestling just seems to bring him grief, so stick with the parts of it that bring joy and relax. As he often says, he doesn't need the job so why deal with the aggravation? He also needs to learn that some jokes and wrestling bits don't age well.

On the other hand, there are a lot of people who would be better served not trying to silence every voice that they disagree with and either rebut it or prove it wrong, but respect the right to stay opposing opinions, no matter how stupid they may be. A Captain America comic pointed out that Freedom of Speech requires accepting both noble and ignoble speech.

Sports Entertainment doesn't apply to Pro Wrestling and its bothers me from day one.