Lightyear Damage Control

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t think certain things get leaked without a reason. Disney has announced they have a woman kissing woman scene in the new Buzz Lightyear movie. Many people think this is in response to a new bill proposed by Ron DeSantis, banning schools from teaching about sexual orientation until after 3rd grade. The bill is now being trolled as an anti-gay bill and Disney is mad about that.

Now all of a sudden, it is leaked that the same sex kissing scene will be in the movie…after apparently being cut from the movie. My issue is why is a kiss the most talked about thing in this movie? I haven’t heard a single thing about the plot, any secret cameos or anything important.

The same thing happened before the movie the Eternals came out. In that movie, there was a man kissing another man for a second and that was all the internet was talking about. I didn’t read anything about how this movie tied into the MCU, nothing about the after-credit scenes, nothing about anything of value except the kiss. And Disney blamed the low box office numbers and bad reviews on that kiss.

Is Disney already writing the narrative of why Lightyear is going to fail? Are they going to go with the Liberal 3 (catchphrase pending), that the hate is from homophobic, misogynist, white supremacists? Or is the hate going to be well deserved because the movie might be poorly written?

I don’t expect this movie to crush the box office records by any means. The creation of Disney+ makes me ok with waiting for the movie to come to streaming for the included price. I think the only Marvel movie I saw in theaters in the last few years was No Way Home because it wasn’t going to be on Disney+. So why would I pay extra to see the movie in theaters of pay a Disney+ premium price to watch a movie that I can just wait a few months to see for no extra cost?

More importantly, will the Chinese release have this same sex kiss in it? Disney has kowtowed to China many times over the past few years. Making Finn smaller on the Chinese Star Wars poster and putting Black Panther in a mask in the movie poster didn’t really scream China really like black people. The Eternals didn’t have a release in China because of the same sex kiss. China is a massive part of Disney’s profits, so it’ll be interesting to see what the new Disney direction will be without China’s influence.

Do you agree with my theory that Disney is pushing the narrative? Do you think Lightyear will fail in the box office?

Let me know.

Where Are You Going With This?

AEW needs a proper developmental brand to help build up wrestlers. NXT makes sense for the WWE. Wrestlers stay there for a few years before going to the main roster after winning championships or being there for long enough that fans will recognize them on the main roster. My issue with AEW’s lack of developmental brand makes me question the path of Captain Shawn Dean.

Dean has a very bright future in the world of wrestling, but I don’t know if AEW even believes in him. He was thrown in a garbage match against MJF, with resulted in Dean winning because CM Punk came in the ring, attacked Dean and technically ruined MJF’s undefeated streak. And this coming week on Dynamite, Dean will be facing MJF again and I’m predicting Wardlow will come out to the ring, which will distract MJF and Dean can get the rollup win. Maybe sparking a tag match between Shawn Spears and MJF vs Wardlow and Dean.

Whatever the outcome, Dean isn’t booked to be a realistic wrestler in AEW. Sadly, I predict Dean will be a roster filler for the most part, we will see him a little more in this MJF and Wardlow feud, but Dean’s roster spot will be on Dark and Elevation helping other wrestlers increase their win/loss record.

What do you think about Shawn Dean’s future in AEW?

Simptastic Joe

Why Punish Him?

I don’t know the full story of what happened, but Nash Carter (current NXT Tag Team Champion) has been released from NXT following a domestic abuse allegation. Then they stripped Nash and his tag team partner Wes Lee of the titles….why? Why is Lee being punished for Carter’s actions?

This could’ve been a great opportunity for Lee. A storyline could’ve been created of Lee trying to find a tag team partner for an upcoming match. Maybe have him being jumped and be in a handicapped match against the number 1 contenders for the title.

A few members of NXT UK have been wrestling in the United States for a few months, so it wouldn’t be ridiculous to bring over another wrestler for a few weeks to team with Lee and eventually drop the belts. My top picks would be Dave Mastiff. Mastiff has been one of my favorite wrestlers of the UK division and I don’t think he’s been in the title picture enough.

If you want to go with a current NXT member in the US then Xyon Quinn (my new favorite wrestler) would be a great pick. Quinn is being booked perfectly as of late and it would be cool to see him in some tag matches. Or you can go with a current main roster wrestler who has done absolutely nothing and needs a rebranding. T-Bar (barf) sorry I mean Dominik Dijakovic was amazing on NXT, but never won any titles before going up to the main roster. Or if you want to trying building up someone on Smackdown devoid of a story then Mansoor is perfect. I think Mansoor should have an amazing year as the WWE is looking to branch out and make an NXT company in the Middle East. Mansoor needs to get better if he is going to lead that brand. And a great way to get him more screentime is teaming him up with Lee and holding those belts for a while.

Who would you team Wes Lee with and do you think striping him of the belt was a smart idea?

Simptastic Joe

Will Smith: Damage Control

After “the slap” Will Smith’s career is in jeopardy. Smith has already resigned from the Academy Awards (whatever that means) and will be facing legal charges from Chris Rock in the coming weeks. Apparently, Bad Boys 4 and his upcoming on Netflix are on pause for the moment.

My prediction is that Smith is going to check himself into some kind of rehab for a bit. His family will be completely silent on the incident. Smith will plead not guilty to any Rock lawsuits and get it dropped to no jail time, some rehab and a big damages settlement. Rock already had hecklers at his comedy special shortly after the Oscars so he can easily say this incident has impacted his career.

The real truth is that Smith doesn’t care about his actions, he cares about his punishment and that’s why he’s getting a jump start on his redemption path. Right now, he and his wife are working on his apology to the world. He’s going to donate a big portion of his next movie paycheck to some kind of abusers group.

In a few years, people won’t forget about the slap, but Smith’s career will be just fine. His agent will start casting him in big ensemble movies where Smith can be a supporting actor and the movie won’t be boycotted. Smith will go back to roots and act in cool stuff and not Oscar winning movies that nobody will ever see or heard existed.

But where do you see Will Smith’s career going forward?

Simptastic Joe

Cody Invasion

Imagine this. WrestleMania. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in a title vs title match. The ref is knocked out. The Usos charge the ring. Brock takes them both out with double clothesline. He starts beating them down. Heyman comes in with a chair and hits Lesnar across the back. Lesnar grabs Heyman by the throat and yells in his face. Reigns gets up and goes for the Spear, but his Heyman instead. Lesnar hits Reigns with the F5. 1. 2. 3. Lesnar celebrates, holds up both belts and makes his way up the ramp. He takes one last look at a defeated Reigns who finally made it to his feet. Then it happens. Cody Rhodes jumps the barrier, slides in the ring and hits Reigns with the Cross Rhodes. Then he takes a look at Lesnar and we cut to black.

How good would that be?

Simptastic Joe

Snoke : What Could’ve Been

I was really excited to see where Snoke’s storyline was going because I thought he was Darth Vader’s father. Remember in the Phantom Menace, when Qui Gon mentioned that something was odd about Anakin’s blood. He had more midichlorians that Master Yoda, who at that time was the strongest Jedi. And Anakin’s mother said there is no father. So, is Anakin’s mother lying, or was he conceived like Jesus Christ or Hercules?

There really is no cinematic scene that explains who Anakin’s father is? To be that powerful and have that many midichlorians isn’t something that happens by chance. Some super powerful being must be the father and when the sequel trilogies are all about family and heritage, it would’ve made sense to have an answer to who is the father of one of the most powerful Jedis in the galaxy.

World War Joe

What Team Taz Could’ve Been

A couple of months ago, I thought Team Taz was going to be the best faction in all of wrestling. They have Ricky Starks (current FTW Champion), Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook. All three men are very talented and have a big future ahead of them, but I miss what could’ve been.

At one point you had Brian Cage there. Cage, one of the biggest and toughest looking guys in wrestling on Team Taz. And I don’t know if its contract or some other outside circumstances, but Cage hasn’t been in AEW for a long time. He is being used on other shows, but not any worthy of mentioning.

The Dante Martin storyline was one of the biggest disappointments for me. Team Taz had the big men (Hobbs and Cage), the charisma (Starks) and the wildcard (Hook) so Martin could’ve been the high flyer. That faction could’ve ran AEW for the foreseeable future.

What faction can compete with all that? Even teams like the Elite and the Inner Circle aren’t equipped enough to beat Team Taz.

World War Joe

You Can’t Have Two Endings

Choosing between multiple endings has become a staple in videogames today. Series like Mass Effect and The Walking Dead let you carry over the decisions from previous games into the new ones. However, those decisions and endings aren’t massively different, but still give the player a feel that their choices matter.

Games like Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath have ruined their sequels because of their multiple outcomes. The ending of Injustice 2 lets you pick the Batman, good ending or the Superman, bad ending. Choosing Batman’s ending means Superman and Brainiac are defeated. Superman is then imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and vows revenge. The Superman ending is massively different. After defeating Batman and Brainiac, Superman uses Brainiac’s mind control ability to control Batman, and seemingly the rest of the Justice League becoming the ruler of earth.

So how would Injustice 3 start? What ending do they start with? Do you get to choose how it starts? Right there you are making 2 massively different games that the events of the previous game are vastly different. Maybe NetherRealm are buying time with their Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League videogame coming out in 2022.

Mortal Kombat hit a home run with MK9 where they reset the timeline and you got to play the game from the beginning and started a more linear timeline. MK10 was even better where they introduced the next wave of MK characters and started to give the old classics their final endings. Then MK11 happened and took away all the progress of the previous two games. The ending of that game, Lui Kang is now in control of the timeline and has the ability to red con the entire series again.

Then NetherRealm decided to reset the timeline again with MK11 Aftermath where again time travel was the theme. The issue is the endings. You can play as Lui Kang, defeat Shang Tsung, and reset history in a nice happy way. Choosing Shang Tsung’s ending makes him the ruler of the realms and going on a bloody crusade to rule over everyone. Again, two vastly different endings. There is a rumored April 2023 date for MK12, but now we don’t have a clear ending on the previous game so its difficult to tell how the next installment will begin.

Do you think NetherRealm backed themselves into a corner making vastly different endings? Let me know what you think.

SimptasticJoe

Yes It Does Make You Look Weak

The Young Bucks Explain Their Unique Twitter Strategy

Body shaming is bad. Nobody should ever be shamed for their appearance. We get that. It still happens and it will forever happen until the end of existence so you can put up all the hashtags you want on Twitter, but that’s not going to stop anything.

The reason why I bring this up is because of the Young Bucks have a new bio on Twitter. It reads, “If we threaten, body shame or say inappropriate things to you, we should lose our jobs. If you do it to us, we need to have thicker skin”.  

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I read this and don’t think the Young Bucks are the toughest team in wrestling. I know that’s not a polite opinion to have, but it ruins the mystique of the tag team. I don’t think wrestlers should be in control of their social medias. Not because I don’t believe in free speech, but because Tweets and posts like this ruin the wrestlers reputation.

Imagine Mike Tyson, arguably the toughest and most feared human being at the time. Let’s pretend Twitter existed back then and Tyson tweets out, “I know I have a speech impediment, but you don’t need to point it out. I know I sound ridiculous so please stop pointing it out”. How would that ruin the image of Tyson? I think immensely.  

Maxwell Jacob Friedman™️ on Twitter: "Fuck that kid." / Twitter

Now when I go on MJF’s Twitter page its all about wrestling. Its all about his brand. Its all about his character. He makes fun of Brodie Lee’s son. He talks shit about CM Punk. He disses Wardlow. But at no point in MJF’s Twitter feed to I see “If we all ate turkey burgers instead of beef climate change wouldn’t be a thing anymore”

Now lets take a look at the Young Bucks in recent weeks on tv….they dress like idiots. I mean they never really had the toughest outfits in wrestling, but it was never a problem for me. They had the Randy Savage tassels on the boots and the pattern was interesting. But now they dress in multi colored onesies and wearing gemmed headbands. So do the Bucks not want me to point out how ridiculous they look? I don’t know and at this point I have no idea what their characters are supposed to be anymore.

AEW Full Gear Results: Falls Count Anywhere Match - eWrestlingNews.com

I saw a very interesting video of Karrion Kross and he was explaining that he went to acting classes to workshop the character he wanted to portray in the ring. And if you look at his social medias it all about his character, upcoming matches, fan art of him and Scarlett and all other things accompanying his brand. And his brand is that he is the biggest toughed guy in the ring and a threat to everyone.

I think every company should have a team of social media managers whose sole job it is to be the voice of the wrestler online. Post about their ongoing feuds, share links to previous matches and things that are relevant to wrestling. Again, not saying free speech is a problem. The problem is how a little thing like banning the username Lets Go Brandon can impact a business. I that because Peloton’s stock has crashed recently because of their political views. Which is now resulting in longer ship dates for customers because so many people have canceled their orders and they are not assembling them fast enough because of the lack of orders. You’re a bike company. Sell bikes. Don’t lecture me on usernames. If I wanted to call myself ChildToucher69 it shouldn’t matter to the company. And if someone is offended by it, they should be able to press a button that says “hide the username”. Peloton I just did your job for you.

My point is that every Tweet that’s sent out and every opinion given should be reread before sending or thought about before speaking. Bully Ray is having a massive heat because of some comments he said about Jon Moxley. Comments that people have made compelling arguments for and against.

New look Young Bucks show off new heel attitude in Tag title defense -  Cageside Seats

Now obviously the Buck’s bio wasn’t as severe as the other examples, but it does show a lack of maturity and business sense from them. I don’t want the best tag team in the world giving me a lecture of how I should behave. You two are not real people to me. I don’t know either of you personally, we are not on a first name basis and when I watch a wrestler, I don’t want to know any of their non wrestling opinions. Essentially your life isn’t

Bryan Danielson is a vegan and when he was in the WWE, he turned the title into a hemp title because it was better for the environment. They took a real-life aspect of his life and turned it into a gimmick that worked. Danielson as a heel talked down to people who didn’t believe with his cause and would regularly lecture fans on their bad decisions. Why did this work? Because it part of his character.

Backstage Reaction To Joe Gacy's Controversial Woke Gimmick In NXT

Joe Gacy’s character on NXT is a social justice warrior. That’s how he’s written. So his social media is littered with inclusive content. And I predict that Gacy will one day be broken and go to the other side, his social medias will reflect that. And its going to work because it makes sense with the character.

Back to the Young Bucks. They are devoid of character development now. They teamed with Don Callis, started dressing like a pair of grandmothers and wearing brand named shoes. If an opponent during a match says they should do more sit-ups will the Bucks cry and leave the ring?

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I watched an entire ECW arena chant “Fuck you” and “Cena swallows” and did John Cena get mad and walk out? Did he cry it to the media? No, he ate up every second of it and used it to make the match better. He played to the fans hating on him and resulted in one of my favorite matches of all time.

Now a hostile crowd has all the ammo they want to hurt the Bucks. They can chant “Do a sit-up”, “Rogaine” or “Bitch tits” and it would utterly decimate them emotionally. Kurt Angle’s “You Suck” and Stone Cold’s “What” chants are still relevant today even though they happened over a decade ago. Why the Bucks are actively choosing to be this socially inept is beyond me.

The Young Bucks Sign New Long-Term Contracts With All Elite Wrestling

But what do you guys think of their new bio and the Young Bucks now?

Simptastic Joe

Warhorse : No Real Contract?

I never heard of Warhorse until he battled Cody Rhodes during the Pandemic Era for the TNT Championship. It was a good match. Hated how it ended. Warhorse tapped out to Rhodes and the Dark Order attacked them and then Matt Cardona came out and helped Rhodes out which led to some matches of them vs The Dark Order, but no Warhorse?

Especially during that time when a lot of wrestlers were staying home, I would’ve thought Warhorse would at least be there for a few more matches. I don’t know all the ins and outs of AEW contracts, but I remember Eddie Kingston had a similar match with Rhodes and got a contract right after. Fuego Del Sol somehow has an AEW contract and Warhorse doesn’t?

I admit my knowledge of Warhorse is limited to that one AEW match and some clips I saw on YouTube, but it looks like he can wrestle. He can sell, has a nice look, is unique, definitely someone who shouldn’t be overlooked so quickly. If not AEW then I’d like to see him head to Impact and see what happens. Warhorse vs Josh Alexander would be a fun match to watch. Maybe have him take on Eric Young, Christian Cage and Moose would all be great matches to watch.

So what do you guys think of Warhorse and what brand would you like to see him on?

Simptastic Joe