u/Shinjetsu01

I'm sure I'm not alone thinking this but the format they did on Friday was a breath of fresh air. It really was.

For months now, we've had the same few wrestlers music hit to open either show, with the same format of a faceoff or feud. Having someone like Chelsea, who has easily earned her flowers and had the chants to then lead into Gunther and Matt Cardona having an impromptu match in their street clothes, to then see Tiffany fending off Nia and Lash was incredible. It's an interweaving of stories that has been sorely missing in WWE of late.

It makes me think they're possibly looking in a new direction, instead of having these solitary one on one little islands of feuds, they're trying to interlink roster members. It seems like they're having almost like "divisions" again instead of just having the same 2 or 3 people in the same stories. Weaving Gunther into a match with Matt Cardona was really unexpected. Having Penta and Fenix likely to be the endgame for the Lucha tournament to see them in with Roman Reigns with LA Knight on the outside with the Uso's ready to pop into what looks like it could be a Lucha Bros reunion is also exciting.

I feel like the next few months they'll be able to include more people in more stories - because that's what they've been struggling with - too many roster members for singular feuds and the fact that every single show opening with a promo battle between Cody, Roman, Seth, Punk etc was getting old.

Long may it continue.

So I did something a little silly cos I'm a soft arse and drove up to Dublin for a Beyblade Tournament ran by Beyblade Ireland. My little man (he's 10) is obsessed with the TV show and the toys but all the tournaments or opportunity to play with others interested is Dublin or Belfast.

Feckin 5 hour drive just to play, dunno what I was thinking. He had a whale of a time though.

Just wondering if there's any interest in something similar round here? Or if there is something and I just don't know about it? He was in the 12 and under tournament, there was a 13 and over tournament. They charged €6 a head and there were 32 kids all playing. Well run too, the kids were more interested in playing each other than misbehaving.

Oleksandr Usyk is unquestionably an all-time great boxer. He is arguably the greatest cruiserweight ever, became undisputed in two divisions and has been the outstanding heavyweight of his generation. None of that automatically makes him one of the ten greatest heavyweights of all time.

Usyk moved up to heavyweight in October 2019. Across nearly seven years, he has fought nine times against only six different opponents:

* Chazz Witherspoon * Derek Chisora * Anthony Joshua x2 * Daniel Dubois x2 * Tyson Fury x2 * Rico Verhoeven

Witherspoon was a late replacement opponent approaching 39. Chisora was an excellent gatekeeper but had already lost nine fights. Verhoeven was one of the greatest kickboxers ever, but not an established elite professional boxer. That leaves Usyk’s heavyweight legacy resting overwhelmingly on three names: Joshua, Fury and Dubois.

Those are very good victories. Beating Joshua twice, Fury twice and Dubois twice is a remarkable achievement, particularly for a former cruiserweight conceding significant size. Dubois may now be his most valuable victory in hindsight, while Fury remains the most prestigious name. Usyk deserves enormous credit for dominating the available generation.

The problem is that “best heavyweight of his generation” and “top-ten heavyweight in history” are entirely different claims. This is not P4P nor is it "well Usyk is bigger than Marciano so he'd beat him". Nor can we say "well Marciano would be a cruiserweight today" because he wasn't then. He achieved what he achieved THEN. That doesn't discount when we evaluate what happened then. He beat other HW's. Simple.

Joshua and Fury simply do not have the depth of achievement possessed by the leading opponents from the strongest historical eras. Joshua was a very good unified champion, but he was also stopped by Andy Ruiz and comprehensively beaten twice by Usyk. Fury’s record outside Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder is extremely thin. Dubois has developed into an excellent heavyweight, but he is still building his career.

Compare that record with the following five heavyweights that people replace in the top 10 with Usyk.

6. Evander Holyfield

Holyfield fought an extraordinary heavyweight schedule. Buster Douglas, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe three times, Mike Tyson twice, Lennox Lewis twice, Michael Moorer twice, Ray Mercer, Hasim Rahman and Nikolai Valuev. He became a four time heavyweight champion and competed in 25 world-title fights across his career. I know this gets argued as "lol worst 4x world champion" but he actually had a full blooded HW career.

Holyfield lost fights because he repeatedly fought outstanding heavyweights rather than protecting an unbeaten record. His victories over Tyson, Bowe, Douglas, Moorer, Foreman and Mercer provide far greater heavyweight depth than Usyk’s wins over Joshua, Fury and Dubois.

7. Joe Frazier

Frazier recorded ten heavyweight championship victories and defeated Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century while both men were undefeated. He also beat Jimmy Ellis twice, Jerry Quarry twice, Oscar Bonavena twice, Buster Mathis and George Chuvalo.

Frazier’s reign was shorter because he existed in the same era as Ali and Foreman. His victory over the undefeated Ali is greater than any individual heavyweight victory on Usyk’s record. Losing to Ali and Foreman should not count against Frazier because Usyk has never fought anyone of that calibre or even close.

8. Jack Johnson

Johnson became the first black world heavyweight champion and held the championship from 1908 until 1915 despite operating within a system openly designed to exclude him. His record included Tommy Burns, James J. Jeffries, Stanley Ketchel, Bob Fitzsimmons, Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette and Sam McVey. He defeated six opponents in recognised world championship bouts.

The sport was radically different then, making direct statistical comparisons difficult. Nevertheless, Johnson’s longevity, historical significance and extensive record against the leading heavyweights of his period give him a heavyweight record Usyk has not yet accumulated.

9. Rocky Marciano

Marciano retired 49 - 0, made six successful heavyweight title defences and went 6 - 0 against Hall of Fame opponents: Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott twice, Ezzard Charles twice and Archie Moore. We're not going to pretend Fury, Dubois and AJ are that calibre.

There are fair criticisms. Louis, Walcott and Moore were old, while Charles was naturally smaller. Nevertheless, Marciano completed an undefeated heavyweight career, twice defeated Charles, twice defeated Walcott and retired while still champion. Usyk’s nine heavyweight contests are not yet enough to displace that record. You can't have a guy with 9 HW fights place above a guy who went 49 - 0. Sorry, nah.

10. Wladimir Klitschko

Klitschko competed in 29 heavyweight world-title fights, finishing 25 - 4 and defeating 23 different opponents in championship bouts which is the most of any heavyweight in history. His second championship reign lasted from April 2006 until November 2015, during which he successfully defended against 17 different challengers. Across his two reigns, he spent a cumulative 4,382 days as a heavyweight champion.

His victories included Chris Byrd twice, Samuel Peter twice, Sultan Ibragimov, Ruslan Chagaev, David Haye, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev, Hasim Rahman, Lamon Brewster, Ray Mercer and Bryant Jennings. He unified three major belts and remained the division’s dominant champion for close to a decade.

The usual criticism is that Klitschko dominated a weak era. I agree, but it cannot logically be used to elevate Usyk above him. If Klitschko’s era was too weak for longevity and overwhelming dominance to earn him a top ten position, Usyk cannot earn one through nine fights against six opponents from another era of questionable depth.

Klitschko defeated 23 different opponents in heavyweight championship contests. Usyk has only fought six different opponents at heavyweight altogether.

The fundamental problem is that Usyk’s heavyweight achievements are concentrated rather than extensive.

He has six wins over Joshua, Fury and Dubois, but repeatedly beating the same three people does not create six separate elite opponents. It proves that Usyk was clearly superior to the leading men of his generation. It does not prove that the generation was historically deep.

Usyk should be celebrated as:

* an all time great P4P boxer * possibly the greatest cruiserweight ever * the best heavyweight of his generation * one of the most skilled heavyweights ever * and a legitimate top 15 heavyweight candidate.

But placing him securely inside the top ten requires treating achievement across two divisions as though it were all heavyweight achievement. It requires counting repeat victories as a substitute for breadth and it requires treating Joshua, Fury and Dubois as equivalent to the collections of elite opponents faced by Holyfield and the others. They are not.

Usyk dominated the heavyweight division that existed in front of him. He deserves full credit for that. However, six years, nine fights and six distinct opponents, only three of whom can reasonably be described as elite career heavyweights - this is not enough evidence to rank him above men who spent a decade fighting and defeating entire generations of contenders.

Last night I was so close to putting the PLE on mute because he has started yelling "OH!" or "WHAOW" at time when there's a move performed and he either doesn't know the name of it or has nothing else to say.

It's gotten to the point now where I'm turning to my SO and having to explain what a move is when he gets it completely wrong. Stupid, little things like calling a suplex a "slam" or when he doesn't know the name of a move at all and just starts yelling.

He's actively harming the product and it's striking WWE doesn't see it. Byron Saxton/Corey Graves/Wade Barrett occasionally chime in and use the correct name to cover for him but we're talking about a guy who has been in and around wrestling now for at least 25 years. Why can't he get basic move names right and why is he so bad at calling the action?

I know Joe Tess isn't well liked but at least he's only been doing this for a short amount of time and he's actually learning. Michael Cole is absolutely awful at his job and I'm tired of pretending he's not.

For context, my father - flawed as he was, is one of the primary reasons for my atheism. We used to discuss what comes after. He went into hospital in February with a kidney problem and had gradually destroyed his own body by refusing to eat or drink in a normal way. I'm not sure why he decided to do it to himself, but it eventually got too much for his body to withstand and he passed away yesterday (my birthday).

Since, I've had friends and family saying that they'll pray for him and I'm in their prayers and it's irritating the shit out of me. Those who knew him would know he wasn't a religious man and those who didn't but know me, know I'm not a religious man either. I'm not entirely sure why they think it'd be something I want to hear. I'm fine with condolences and well wishes but what really irks me about the insertion of a religious angle here is that the man wilfully allowed his own body to essentially eat itself alive. There cannot be a god that would allow someone to do that to themselves and watch idly by.

Currently I'm playing the nice card, just saying I appreciate their condolences and such but there's a part of me that knows the wrong person says the wrong thing and I'm gonna snap.

Question is - how would you guys cope?

Edit: I forgot to add that my mother is trying to have a funeral in a church which I know for a fact, he would have absolutely hated. Feels like I don't get a say in that - especially as most of the family will expect it as it's "normal". Not sure how to navigate that either.

Just to get a gauge on how much to sell it for really, or what I should do.

2014. It's perfect in terms of bodywork, but it does have 385,000km (239,000 miles) on the clock.

It's the R-Design, 181bhp D4 model. Everything works inside, needs an AC recharge though. Just passed the NCT, had 4 new Michelin P3's on at Christmas, new brake discs about 5000km ago.

Is it scrap or do you think it'll sell for more?

Since getting my car last week I've been staring at it on the driveway and I legitimately just want to drive it ALL the time.

It's not a beast like an M5, it's not a sporty little thing like a m140i - it's just a nice car. I've owned many cars over the years and this is the best by a distance. So my question is - how do you refrain from just hopping in and driving with no aim or location but just to be in it?

I'm really struggling at the moment. I don't want to put the miles on it but I'll be damned if it's not my new favourite thing to do.

Will it wear off?

I don’t know if it’s just me, but this sub has basically evolved into a mire of the same five topics on repeat.

1. “Winslop”

Ah yes, the Linux bros. You could post a picture of a toaster and within seconds someone’s in the comments explaining how it would run better on Arch and calling you intellectually negligent for owning Windows. Relax. 95% of people just want their PC to turn on and not require a degree in ancient runes to install Spotify. Some of us have been using Windows for years without our machines bursting into flames. Sorry for being negative IQ lads.

2. “I just found this on marketplace for $3, good deal?”

“I picked up a 5090 and a 9950X3D for a vape cartridge and a few shirt buttons, did I do alright?” Yes. Yes you did. Congratulations on your completely accidental robbery. This is just karma farming and it drives me mad.

3. VRAM: The Holy War

Thanks to YouTube and “influencers” who discovered outrage equals engagement, we now have people who’ve never touched the hardware declaring others morons for how they play games. I’ve literally had to provide photographic evidence of my own settings in Cyberpunk because someone watched a 12 minute video essay and decided reality was wrong. For those at the back - 8GB is fine for 1080p, 12GB is fine for 1440p and 16GB is where you want to be for 4K. Then (brace yourselves) the actual GPU tier matters. A 4060 Ti at 4K isn’t the same experience as a 4070 at 1440p. Shocking stuff I know.

4. RAM Usage Conspiracy Theories

The latest episode: “I’m using all 64GB of RAM, is my PC possessed?” WTF are you running, a mini AI data centre? I can be doing in 4K renders on Davinci, editing on Photoshop, have multiple browser tabs open, playing a game and watching a film in the background and my RAM is still just chilling. The OS allocates memory in advance, it’s not a panic alarm. Staring at Task Manager like it’s a heart monitor doesn’t make you a power user.

5. “Rate My Setup” (it’s a desk)

We’ve really broadened the definition of “setup” to include: one monitor, one keyboard, one mouse and a desk bravely doing its job. Riveting stuff lads. Meanwhile, someone with a triple-monitor setup, a hybrid console/PC routing setup and a case that looks like it fell out of a sci-fi film gets half the attention. But sure, let’s all applaud another TikTok shop 60% keyboard and the same white mouse for the 400th time. If I see one more minimalist shrine to RGB-less beige, I may need to log off for my own safety.

Honestly, it’s less a subreddit at this point and more a live action loop of the same five conversations, just with different usernames each time.

Earlier today, there was a question about what's worse - Christianity or Islam. I answered that while both are inherently bad and rooted in evil, the practice of Islam is "worse" in the sense that there's a lot more attributed to the inequality of gender, the treatment of LGBTQ+ people and the fact that there's more violence in the religion in regards to Apostasy, Honour killings and more.

It wasn't the first time, but I encountered someone who went absolutely crazy, calling me racist for pointing out flaws in Islam compared to Christianity as they set about saying how Islam preaches equality, how I was racist and xenophobic for daring to criticise Islam when Christianity is "just as bad". Basically, a fake Atheist who sits on this sub just to argue with Atheists. The mods rightly stepped in and removed most of her comments but it was a very confusing interaction.

My question is - why do they do that? The majority of people here are pretty well versed in religion. They know that Muhammed had sex with a 9 year old girl. That's a matter of record in the Hadiths. Why would they call it racist to point that out?