FanFare

"The virtue of all-in wrestling is that it is the spectacle of excess. Here we find a grandiloquence which must have been that of ancient theatres. And in fact wrestling is an open-air spectacle, for what makes the circus or the arena what they are is not the sky... it is the drenching and vertical quality of the flood of light. ...[W]restling partakes of the nature of the great solar spectacles, Greek drama and bullfights: in both, a light without shadow generates an emotion without reserve." -- Roland Barthes, "The World Of Wrestling" from Mythologies, 1957 [more inside]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta on Apr 6, 2024 - 7 comments

It has not gone unnoticed on MetaFilter that the Roman Reigns "Bloodline" saga is one of the greatest pro-wrestling storylines of the past 10 years. But for certain the Tribal Combat stip won't be the only hard-hitting match of the night. Whether you want to watch Roman/Jey, Cody/Brock, Ricochet/Logan Paul, or Ronda/Shayna, this intends to be an exciting PPV. [more inside]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta on Aug 5, 2023 - 3 comments

The Showcase of the Immortals, The Grandest Stage of All... and the first 'Mania that wasn't booked by serial-abuser Vince McMahon. Pro-wrestling biggest night comes once again, and WWE's biggest storyline by far is Roman Reigns and the Bloodline, their place at the head of the table now under assault by an alliance of friends-turned-enemies-turned-friends-again and a returning prodigal son (all of them former Ring of Honor champions, by the way). [more inside]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta on Apr 1, 2023 - 23 comments

This week: Another episde from the Void. Rick Bright became a whistleblower into Trump's Coronavirus response, while Trump dissipated his energies unveiling the "Space Force" flag. There is a scandal around North Carolina Senator Richard Burr for profiting off of non-public Coronavirus briefings back in February. And Now: Rachael Ray Is Doing Her Best With Her New, One-Man Production Crew. Main story: Sports, why shutting them down for a while was the right thing to do, and what they've been doing in the meantime, some of which is actually fairly positive! Although some are fairly sucky, with the drive to earn profits overruling some team owners and even schools' desire to keep their players healthy. Which brings us... to Last Week's Tonight's newly-announced sponsorship of Marble League 2020, Jelle's Marble Runs (the producers of Marbula One) Olympics-like marble sports competition! On YouTube (22m) LWT is off next week. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on May 18, 2020 - 9 comments

Main subject: The unwillingness of the WWE to support its wrestlers even as a lifetime of performances leaves them broken and often to an early death. On YouTube. (23m) Other topics included the submission of the Mueller Report and Barr's summary of it.
posted by JHarris on Apr 15, 2019 - 5 comments

That week....

• Violence marred the prior week, and Fox News went out of their way to position the attacks as "false flag" operations, supposedly stages by Democrats to make Republicans look bad. Geraldo Riviera "outsmarts himself" in making such allegations.
• Saudi Arabia continues to try to explain the disappearance, likely murder, of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while President Trump and right-wing figures try to downplay the killing of an American resident.
• Main story: the role of state Attorneys General on our nation, their role in investigating wrongdoing, and the increasing degree to which the offices have become politicized. YouTube
• Special productions: A WWE commercial that properly notes the fact that it takes place in Saudi Arabia, and the problems that causes; a concert for bagpipes, accordion, theremin and recorder (multiple, played by young children) to annoy people to stepping away from their TV sets and actually researching their states' candidates for Attorney General. A good place to do that, they note, is at Vote411.org.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Nov 4, 2018 - 2 comments

After a WrestleMania that rose above low expectations and an unexplained Superstar Shakeup, we slide into two of the most holding-pattern PPVs WWE Network events that ever held a pattern: PayBackLash. The Raw version will feature two crossover matches and two undefended belts. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Apr 26, 2017 - 6 comments

With a WrestleMania card all but locked into place and bursting at the seams, Team Red heads to Philly to finishing setting the stage. [more inside]
posted by SpiffyRob on Mar 28, 2017 - 11 comments

Finally, six weeks after the last time we gathered, it's time for what is generally the most fun show of the year, with the added bonus that the Rumble winner is less apparent than it has been for a long, long time. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Jan 24, 2017 - 35 comments

The lesser brand has been stepping it up as of late, so of course we're going into a PPV so low-tier that it's recycling a name from earlier this year. Meanwhile, Smackdown Live! has been tearing it up as usual, coming off a better-than-it-shoulda-been TLC PPV that ended with all four title belts around the waists of heels, including Alexa Bliss and the Wyorts. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Dec 13, 2016 - 20 comments

The reunion of the brands we've been waiting for since, I dunno, July I guess? Anyway, it's Raw vs. SmackDown Live up and down the four-hour (ugggh) card, with only one McMahon bigfooting his way in. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Nov 15, 2016 - 27 comments

We're ready to go for the most over-the-top (sometimes literally) gimmick PPV, with a ridiculous three matches in The Demonic Structure. And the theoretical go-home show gave us little development for it. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Oct 25, 2016 - 13 comments

Rollins and Rusev pay the price for interference, WWE Women's Champion Charlotte attempts to keep her cool, Six Cruiserweight Classic competitors AND the Cruiserweight Championship make their Raw debut, Cesaro and Sheamus continue their best of 7 series, and more! [more inside]
posted by zerolives on Sep 19, 2016 - 32 comments

The bifurcated brand comes back together for the granduncle of them all, the last combined PPV until Survivor Series. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Aug 16, 2016 - 54 comments

Monday night saw a very unclear finish to a WWE Championship match, the reveal of the show GMs, an announcement that RAW was getting a Cruiserweight division, and John Cena trying to keep up with the kids on his lawn. [more inside]
posted by jermsplan on Jul 21, 2016 - 20 comments

The brand split approacheth, Brock Lesnar draws headlines for going back to UFC again, but before all that, we've got this month's PPV, top-loaded with talent and what the announcers insist on telling us over and over again are WrestleMania-level main events. After seeing virtually every mathematically possible combination of the six (Wait, six? Yeah, six.) competitors in the MitB match, it's finally time for what Michael Cole has been hyping as the greatest MitB card of all time, complete with a blatant teasing of a Shield triple-threat to close out the night, [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Jun 14, 2016 - 17 comments

Raw was a decent enough go-home, propelled largely by one of the better storylines in a while. So we're ready for perhaps the most dispensable PPV on the schedule, but a couple of compelling matchups and questions are making it work. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Apr 26, 2016 - 17 comments

Well... that happened. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Jan 19, 2016 - 25 comments

The downward spiral of Raw continues with a white-hot start -- fatal four-way four-man-team elimination match featuring the League of Nations vs. the Wyatt Family vs. the ECW Originals (Dudleys and Dreamer and RHYNO) vs. the Family (which is apparently what they're calling Reigns and Ambrose and the Usos despite the Wyatt Family being a thing already) -- that goes all right, but then nothing much else good happens other than the New Day and Sasha Banks but we knew that already. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Dec 8, 2015 - 33 comments

We have our predictable semi-final World Heavyweight Championship brackets. We have the Brothers of Destruction predictably making the Wyatts look like punks. We have Charlotte and Paige predictably turning a contract signing into a fight. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Nov 17, 2015 - 23 comments

Austin! Taker! Lesnar! Malenko! Finlay! Michaels! Flair! SHIELD REUNION! [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Oct 20, 2015 - 27 comments

This year's "season premiere" features the Authority trying to get a New Day bump, Kevin Owens giving Ryback shit over reading The Secret, a Dusty Finish for a fairly good Divas title match, and the first ever Sting match on Raw. Against the Big Show. Who he wrestled roughly a million times on Nitro. No wonder it turned into a tag match with John Cena and Seth Rollins. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Sep 15, 2015 - 25 comments

The granduncle of them all is here, with an expanded running time, a big name guest host, and huuuge matches (Donald Trump not included). [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Aug 18, 2015 - 19 comments

ContractSigningMania runs wild as Brrrock Lllesnarrr and Seth Rollins make their WWE Championship match offi-- Oh, who cares? NXT WOMEN INVADE. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Jul 14, 2015 - 5 comments

Wait... King of the Ring? Yep, that's right. After an underwhelming Extreme Rules that saw one title change and little plot movement, suddenly Raw hosts the quarterfinals of an eight-man KotR tourney, to finish live on the WWE Network the next day.
posted by Etrigan on Apr 29, 2015 - 22 comments

The card is set. The stars are aligned. The Granddaddy Of Them All is just a few days away, and WWE has managed to put together a fairly compelling WrestleMania card almost despite themselves. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Mar 24, 2015 - 31 comments

It's been a few weeks since the last Raw post, and we've been through the Rumble and NXT Takeover: Rival. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Feb 12, 2015 - 15 comments

In the first RAW of 2015, The Authority returns, bringing bad news (and Bad News) to your favorite faces. In action tonight... Ziggler/Barrett, The Ascension/nobody we know, Reigns/Show, Nattie/Nikki, Harper/Rowan, Ambrose/Wyatt & an ambulance, Usos & Naomi/Miz, Mizdow & Alicia Fox, Ryback/Rollins & Kane, Big E/Adam Rose. [more inside]
posted by kimberussell on Jan 6, 2015 - 32 comments

The Authority is out, an icon is in, and a world champion makes his triumphant return to... well, not the ring, but at least he's back in the arena. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Nov 29, 2014 - 12 comments

Cena v. Orton becomes a #1 contender match. Rusev tries desperately to ignite his feud with the Big Show. AJ and Paige try to inject some drama into their fourth straight PPV match. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Oct 21, 2014 - 3 comments

Wyatts, Bellas and Vipers, oh my! Plus an appearance by the NXT kids and Jerry Springer. Yes, Jerry Springer. [more inside]
posted by kimberussell on Sep 9, 2014 - 20 comments

Brock Lesnar crashes Hulk Hogan's birthday, and Cena comes out for the staredown. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Aug 14, 2014 - 18 comments

Triple H announces who will face John Cena at SummerSlam.
posted by Etrigan on Jul 23, 2014 - 44 comments

*takes deep breath* Okay, this is at least my third time suggesting this. I promise it will be the last. Professional wrestling, particularly the WWE product, has a few fans here on MetaFilter, and the last few FPPs that were more focused on the actual product drew dozens of comments from more than two dozen MeFites who are clearly regular viewers. There are lots of shows on FanFare that draw many fewer commenters, and there are shows that are non-narrative (Cosmos, Last Week Tonight). [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on Jul 22, 2014 - 4 comments