Opinion

News From Cook’s Corner 9.21.20: Notorious

Cook decides to touch on some of the more problematic people and topics of 2020 that resurfaced this week!

Published

5 years ago

September 21, 2020

We’ve made a habit of saying *fill in year* is the worst year ever for a few years now. I’ve seen 2017, 2018 & 2019 all get that title put on them, and it’s safe to say that 2020 has put all those years to shame in its level of awfulness.

There’s something we need to keep in mind that I don’t think we contemplate enough. The decisions that we make in the year we currently inhabit decide whether or not those future years will be as insufferable. Its not like we can magically push a button and decide that everything will be better when the calendar flips from December to January. A lot of us have made that mistake, myself included.

The decisions that were made in previous years led to the current mess we’re in. We can either learn from those mistakes, or we can keep on hoping things magically get better when the year number changes.

I apologize for the sermon, but I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection lately. I don’t make enough money to afford therapy, so I have to do it here. On with the latest and greatest wrestling news people have been talking about over the past week! Welcome to News From Cook’s Corner.

WWE News

Our friends at Fightful Select reported that there are plans to bring back everybody’s favorite truculent trio, the Forgotten Sons. As you might recall, the Sons were taken off television after Jaxon Ryker (the one that used to be Gunner in TNA) made some social media posts supporting Donald Trump’s police using tear gas, pepper spray and flash bangs to clear protesters out of the way so Trump could do a photo-op at a church. Shockingly, when people looked back at Ryker’s social media history, he had previously made some race-baiting posts directed towards African-Americans.

Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either.

Anywho, creative has apparently been told to come up with ideas for the Forgotten Sons, while Edge has been giving the group advice. Which gives me a couple of questions. For one thing, who did Edge piss off to get mentioned by this source? We all know the Forgotten Sons weren’t an Internet favorite even back in NXT because they weren’t as skilled as the other teams on the show, and effectively became personae non gratae after the social media kerfluffle. Somebody wanted to connect Edge with these guys for reasons, and I’d love to know them. What can I say, I love office gossip! It’s great column material.

Then there’s another question I have towards the folks in the WWE locker room that were mad at Ryker for his comments. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not defending the content of Ryker’s posts, and I do understand why some of Ryker’s co-workers would be offended by his casual racism from back in the day. I just wonder if they have the same energy they have towards Ryker for their boss, a man who’s been bosom buddies with Ryker’s favorite President for decades and whose wife raises money for the political endeavors of that President.

I think Ryker got a lot of heat from people on the roster that would like to give their boss the same kind of message, but can’t because they like getting paid. That makes them human. I’m just saying that we can’t make the working stiff suffer forever while the people that inspire him go unpunished. That just makes the working stiff support even worse people and push him down a troublesome road. (I would like to say there won’t be worse than what we’re currently stuck with, but there will be worse the further we go down this road. If you’ve seen the folks inspired by him, you smell what I’m cooking.) What I’m saying is that people trying to cut the head off of a snake should actually cut the head off instead of the tail. Dig what I’m saying?

It was reported last week by PWInsider that Melina would soon be returning to WWE. Melina denied it, but we all know it’s a lose-lose situation for a talent when their big surprise return gets spoiled by the dirt sheets. Don’t blame the reporters, they gotta do what they gotta do if they have something confirmed. It just leads to the wrestler having to deny everything because WWE wants that return to be unexpected. So they have to lie, and we never believe anything they say again.

So expect Melina back sometime soon. She didn’t show a lot in what I saw of her recent work in NWA, but can still talk and her act was always about the entrance anyway. As long as she still does that, people will dig her return.

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with mostly being an entrance. Undertaker had a pretty long career, didn’t he? Worked out for him!

WWE sent out a survey to fans that I think most folks would have a tough time filling out completely. You can’t say they aren’t looking for feedback! WWE wants to know fans’ favorite stars, and wants fans to rate talent from 1-5 based off the following traits:

Wrestling Skills
Fan Connection
Convincing Character
Entertaining Entrance
Mic Skills
Dark
One of a Kind
Boring
Unstoppable
High Flying
Family Friendly
Phony
Rebellious
Authentic
Generous
Underdog
Snobby
Aggressive
Funny
Edgy
Energetic
Attractive

WWE also wants to know if you want to see more, less or the same of these people on television. It’s the right thing to do. But if you’re like me, you can’t possibly rate all of the folks on the WWE roster in these categories with any kind of thought in any lesser time than one calendar year. So I’m not convinced of the quality WWE will get from people answering this survey.

Especially since they didn’t ask me. I mean, what the hell? I’ve been paying for that damn Network since 2014, have purchased way too many WWE t-shirts and they won’t even ask me for input. So disrespectful. And people wonder why I don’t kiss their ass.

AEW News

Those of you that have missed seeing the American Nightmare Cody on AEW Dynamite recently should be happy to know this: PWInsider reports that he’ll be back within the next three weeks or so. Cody’s return is welcomed and should add more spice to Dynamite, but it was nice to have him step away for a little while. The old question “How can I miss you when you never leave?” comes to mind. Cody’s a smart guy. He knows that taking time off occasionally will keep him fresh.

He’s not as quite as smart as Hulk Hogan yet. Hogan knew how to time his absences on occasions when Nitro would go down in the ratings. Then again, it’s a different dynamic since Cody is actually part of the office, and he probably likes the fact that his crew can keep things running without him. That’s the thing about historical comparisons I come up with off the top of my head. I can find ways to debunk them pretty quickly.

After all, as long as we have SUE, AEW’s ratings should be fine.

AEW recently filed a trademark for “Blood Brothers”. These are the first three things that came to my mind while wondering what they would be doing with the term.

-Cody & Dustin can’t use “The Brotherhood” anymore since WWE copyrighted it
-Eddie Kingston’s ragtag band of merry misfits
-The male version of AEW Heels

Could be anything, honestly.

We got more trademark news! Cody has been trying to get a trademark on one of his father’s nicknames for quite awhile now, but the US Government won’t give it to him. We all know why, but the most recent denial was pretty cold:

“The current specimens fail to show the mark used in commerce in connection with the applied-for services. In addition, it fails to function as a service mark as it appears to be the stage name of a deceased wrestler.”

I mean…yeah. But that’s the US Government for ya. Cold blooded.

Other Wrestling News

Will Ospreay deleted his Twitter account just prior to his appearance in the G1 Climax. Frankly, I recommend deleting your Twitter account prior to doing anything important. You could just do what LeBron James does and not log in during important times in your career, but it’s probably best to just go all the way with it. Even if you’re not the subject of much controversy due to your role in blackballing somebody who accused your friend of sexual assault. I assume that most of you reading this aren’t in Ospreay’s position, but this is really advice that can apply to everybody.

In all seriousness, I have nothing other than sentiments about how we should all quit Twitter to improve our mental health to add on the Ospreay stuff, as I have no real connection to the issue and no feeling about his work one way or the other other than “meh”. When I check out NJPW it’s for Yano, Big Tom Ishii or Minoru Suzuki. You know, either comedy or people beating the crap out of each other. That’s more my speed than the gymnastics stuff Ospreay likes to trot out there is. My favorite Ospreay match that I’ve seen is the one where Lance Archer murdered him into working a more sensible style. So I can’t say I identify with those of you dreading all these upcoming Ospreay matches, and his impending push, because I wasn’t going to bother with it anyway.

If you’d like to read a more thoughtful take with more actual information and research, I highly recommend this article I read on Saturday morning about all the Ospreay stuff. I don’t usually put over people outside of my 411/Chairshot circle, but I’ve been impressed with a couple of articles I’ve read from Emily Pratt. Apparently she used to write for Uproxx’s site, which is why I was unfamiliar with her work until recently. Anyway, it’s good stuff.

Somebody let me know if there’s anybody else I missed out on due to my boycott of Shithead Stroud over the years, ok? Thanks in advance, I need to add some new reading material to the rotation, whenever I have time to read anything. Which isn’t often considering my work & writing schedule, but should I really be reading Scott Keith in 2020? I’m just saying, any recommendations are nice.

And that’s all the good trouble I can cause for now. Keep reading all of the awesome content here on The Chairshot, and keep your stick on the ice.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Andrew’s Top 5 (10) Matches: Week Ending 9/20/2020

Don't Miss

Tiffany’s Takes: Roman Reigns, AEW/NWA, Women’s Wrestling, and More

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY – 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY – POD is WAR (Los Tres Friends)

FRIDAY – DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network
Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts… Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Listen on your favorite platform!

iTunes | iHeart Radio | Google Play | Spotify
Listen, like, subscribe, and share!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1