r/SquaredCircle • u/Youngstown_WuTang • 10h ago
The freestyle that got Max Caster removed from TNA, and his mention on all TNA social media pages Spoiler
Description: Here's the freestyle that got him removed from TNA
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u/KeV1989 BANG! 10h ago
Lines aside. Absolutely getting no reaction, not even a weird look, from your opponent and the ref in the ring is already damning on your debut
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u/TheBeepB00p 10h ago
50% of the crowd were comped tickets they didn’t have interest in the show like all night. Maybe more than 50%
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u/KeV1989 BANG! 10h ago
The crowd i can understand, but the people in the ring should atleast give him something. Make it seem like he's getting under your skin or that his lines have an impact. Just staring at him like a deer in the headlights is dreadful
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u/JonasAlbert84 Just remember ALL CAPS 10h ago
Nah everyone has to be cool
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u/KeV1989 BANG! 10h ago
in AEW even Samoa Joe and Jon Moxley gave reactions, even if they just nodded or these "huh, thats smart" smiles. Immediately made Max's raps sound better, even if 90% of the lines were always cringey
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u/Ketchum_gunshot 10h ago
Him mentioning Renee and Oral Sessions is an all timer, not because of the line, but because of what Mox did as soon as the Acclaimed tried to enter the ring.
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u/bayleysgal1996 Last Rock-n-Rolla 10h ago
Mox just going “alright, now they gotta die” was fantastic
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u/airz23s_coffee "I threw my heart out in front of me and Ben caught it" 9h ago
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u/acekingoffsuit 8h ago
"AYYY EEEEE DOUBLE-Yuuuugh!"
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u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang 7h ago
So good. Shame it didn't work out.
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u/poop_snausages 6h ago
I mean, I would argue it did work out, that video is from 5 years ago and the Acclaimed had a pretty good run in AEW.
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u/Obi-wan_Jabroni Cowboy Shiznit 9h ago
Mox telling Eddie like yeah you do kind a look like some newports
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u/miikro isn't even a real person! 9h ago
Eddie simultaneously laughing but also looking annoyed, lol
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 8h ago
"He's right, but I'm still gonna kill him"
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u/WorldGoingOneWay 9h ago
Even there, people like Joe and Mox understand wrestling and know they have to do it, but the nobodies are still not reacting properly because they want to be badasses.
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u/GonePostalRoute 8h ago
God forbid they look human and react. That might make them look weak! Gotta just look “badass” like the kid on the playground who is acting tough!
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u/dasruski Coffee and Dad Jokes 6h ago
I love when Joe cracks a smile or wry laugh. He acknowledges they may have gotten him on the mic but he'll be killing them later so who cares about some verbal barbs.
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u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang 7h ago
The attitude some wrestlers have with promos is weird af. In the ring it's a dance, a cooperative give and take. Lots of wrestlers are proud they can make people look good and certain wrestlers are lauded when they can elevate talent that maybe isn't so good. On the mic? Nah, that's war. Sink or swim and a bunch of bs like that. It's the same thing! The culture of working with and helping the other guy out in the ring should apply on the mic. Shit like what Cope did to Starks is the promo equivalent of a fucking Road Warriors match.
I don't know if that's what's going on here tbf. Moose might just be a bit shit and not get it rather than this being a genuine sand bag and deliberately non emotive. He does look slightly confused lol. I've honestly barely seen him work. He looks like a million bucks though.
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u/Hodges83 6h ago
I wonder how much of it is a newer thing?
In Foley's first book, he tells a story of facing Boss Man on a house show loop. He makes some crack about Boss Man going to Disneyland and puking on one of the rides - just something to pop the live crowd.
Boss Man doesn't no-sell it. He doesn't try to one up it and claim Foley did something worse. He acts like the heel he's meant to, sells it fully by protesting that "I had a stomach bug that day!" and adds to the moment by leaning in.
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u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang 5h ago
Yeah, I'm not so sure tbh. I feel like the duelling promos thing is kind of an 90s/attitude era deal. At least in my mind when I think of great promos from earlier eras it's a dude or group cutting a promo with a mean Gene type. The reply happens later and if there's a live reaction it's someone watching it on a screen or something. If there is an interaction between two parties at once it's a shouty affair where guys have to be held apart or something like that. It was later on when the distinction not just between heel and face but also between work and shoot became more blurred that I recall seeing duelling promos become more prominent and people be more hesitant to be a genuine heel. It makes sense really, the top guys are NWO and Austin, and a bit latter DX and The Rock. Pillman was out there working everyone lol. A lot of dudes likely saw a promo as an opportunity to get themselves over rather than to you know, do their job. Or at least, what their job had been up to that point.
That said Boss Man was a proper old school heel. He knew exactly what his job was and it doesn't surprise me he was happy to look silly for the bit. From what I hear he was a class act.
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u/Kumomeme 5h ago
The culture of working with and helping the other guy out in the ring should apply on the mic.
this remind me that once in a while there is trend that wrestlers desperately trying to deliver their own 'pipebomb' which is make things worse.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 8h ago
I think Joe once gave a "he's got me there" during the rap
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u/PastRelease8757 8h ago
“When we were beating them in the ratings he was there champ!”
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 8h ago
Oh that was a good one "yep, he's got me there, I'm still gonna murder him"
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u/mjac1090 9h ago
Because max actually gave them something to react to, his tna rap was beyond dogshit
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u/SadFeed63 10h ago edited 9h ago
Everyone has to be cool, a cool badass, no one can ever lose clean, but shenanigans are also very bad, no one can ever get verbal comeuppance or they're buried, and from all that we want deep and interesting stories, damn it!
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u/katastrophe1312 9h ago
And also, you should win things by watching!
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u/SadFeed63 9h ago
I also would've accepted something referencing Agnes Skinner's rant to Squeaky Voiced Teen about how she wants her massive grocery order to all be in one bag, but she doesn't want the bag to be heavy.
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u/tarnishedkara 9h ago
its one of the main reasons the NWO failed so bad in WWE is because at the time WWE was built on the loud mouth anti-authority out for yourself anti-hero aesthetic, so when you bring in 3 people that also have that same mentality as a means of being the villains no one was actually scared of them because they were just like everyone else.
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u/lionheart4life 6h ago
And also WWE spent years telling us how old and washed up they were and now it's 4-5 years later.
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u/tombolaplayer 10h ago
Moose in the headlights.
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u/ImplementOk5878 9h ago
Moose is shit. Has no idea about how to be a pro wrestler outside of executing moves.
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u/lionheart4life 7h ago
There's a reason why they are working in TNA. If they were putting in those extra touches they would have had shots in WWE or AEW by now.
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u/kennypowersrevenge 7h ago
My buddy works for a local Tampa bay radio station and literally was given a stack to give to anyone who wanted them. Like 200 tickets.
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u/Wiccy Ignorant bliss 10h ago
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u/LackingDatSkill BAY BAY! 10h ago
Let’s not act like Max was some major wrestling name either, he’s been off tv for a year and has cooled down drastically from his acclaimed days so his crowd reaction is pretty accurate
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u/VagisilKotexKun 9h ago
I was there, the crowd sucked. I tried so hard to get some chants going. A lot of the fans seemed new to wrestling and TNA.
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u/StylishMrTrix 10h ago
Felt bad for him with that lack of reaction, and honestly didn't notice the lines
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u/MasterDeaDmAn 9h ago
the Gimmick is played out. thats why the Dr of Thugganomics didnt bring it back when he did his retirement tour
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u/Mud-Bray 10h ago
Like….how was this not expected by everyone? Did TNA not know that Max’s whole shtick is edgy free styles?
IMO maybe I’m jaded but this isn’t even top five most controversial things he has said
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u/tommybare 10h ago
For real. Why would you give the guy a live mic without double checking his lines first. Especially knowing what his gimmick is.
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u/Middcore 10h ago
They put it on all of their socials until their "global partners" complained, apparently. This isn't a matter of them getting blind-sided by him doing lines they didn't approve. They were cool with it, until they weren't.
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u/AmishAvenger Electrifying 9h ago
“Global partners” meaning WWE.
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u/Flanagan26866 9h ago
More probably some sponsors
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u/HartfordWhalers123 9h ago edited 9h ago
Yeah people assume it’s just WWE (rightfully). But TNA also has 11 big sponsors that they are currently doing business with and some of those like iHeartMedia, Dude Wipes, and LaMelo Ball’s LaFrance have business in Saudi too.
So it was probably them and WWE as well.
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u/NorthHollywoodHank 10h ago
He said like 3 things that each got him serious heat in the span of 4 bars in AEW once.
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u/TheEpicTriforce C'MON MY ASS! 9h ago
Immediately thought "This is gonna be the one about Julia isn't it..."
Was correct.
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u/ChairmanLaParka 9h ago
The outrage over that line was so silly. Just a bunch of people standing up for "literal child Julia Hart".
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u/Mud-Bray 9h ago
I mean was the outrage over the Julia line or the literal rape reference about Duke Lacrosse?
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u/NakedEyeComic 9h ago
The outrage was actually over the Simone Biles line, which I really didn't think was a big deal personally.
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u/Mud-Bray 9h ago
WHAT
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u/The_Magic Consensual Phoenix 8h ago
At the time Simone Biles pulled out of a contest at the Olympics citing mental health. This was around the same time there were headlines about that doctor that assaulted a lot of American Olympic athletes. People believed the two were related which is why they were so outraged at the time.
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u/GonePostalRoute 8h ago
I’d imagine if it was one of his standard raps with the Julia line in there, there probably wouldn’t be nearly any heat at him for it. It’s once he threw in the other shit that it made the thing as a whole worse
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u/eightcircuits 9h ago
I was there for that and didn't even hear the Julia thing at the end because people were booing loudly near me. Probably moreso at the Simone Biles bit because Charlotte isn't going to care about a shot at Duke.
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u/Dr_J_Hyde 8h ago
Yeah, if I'm Bowens I'd have a hard time keeping a smirk off my face if being worried about exactly this happening in AEW is why he didn't want to tag anymore.
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u/notathrowaway75 10h ago
Has he freestyled about a dozen people dying in a bombing the day before?
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u/Valdaraak 9h ago
He freestyled about the Duke lacrosse case on a benefit show for domestic violence and SA victims. And made a line about Putin right after he invaded Ukraine.
If anything, him freestyling about people dying in a bombing the day before is exactly the thing he would do. He only hasn't because the opportunity didn't present itself until now.
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u/EnoughOfThisBull 10h ago
It's not outrageous to not expect someone to mention a airport bombing the same weekend it happened.
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u/Mud-Bray 10h ago
I mean if TNA was worried about what Max was gonna say they could 1) Check what he was gonna say or 2) Be aware that his gimmick is based on making references to stuff that happened recently, sometimes controversies.
Also TNA could not repost the moment on their own socials if they were really outraged about it before the blowback
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u/UnsolvedParadox The future is now! 8h ago
TNA should have pre-approved the rap & put this on the pre-show, why are they featuring an unanticipated debut with no heat on the biggest show of the year?
If they're going to use him that night, do it as the free match before the main card & wrap it up in 5 minutes.
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u/bayleysgal1996 Last Rock-n-Rolla 8h ago
IIRC they didn’t have a pre-show this year, main broadcast started with the HOF ceremony
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u/Trumppered 6h ago
TNA should have pre-approved the rap
why are you so sure they didn't...?
I'd bet good money they either 1) DID pre-approve it, or 2) explicitly told him something like: "go out there and be edgy... we wanna generate clicks."
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u/fcukou 7h ago
If he had made a mention of the Saudis bombing an airport in Yemen (which they did multiple times over the last 10 years) or the US or Israel bombing one in Iran, he would still be on TV. It's has nothing to do with bombing an airport and everything to do with whose airport got bombed.
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u/raspymorten The Creator of r/CurtisAxel 9h ago
Thing is his gimmick had actually changed up for the better in his last AEW appearances. The Best Wrestler Alive sthick pretty much completely dropped the freestyle stuff, and it was all the better for it. Dude had run outta good material ages ago.
I'm never forgetting that time where he did a shit rap, then went "I got more" and delivered even worse bars to little reaction. That was when I was sure they had to fucking end the gimmick now.
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u/KruleDiablo 9h ago
It's a throwaway rap he would give on a normal Wednesday but he made fun of Saudi and WWE made the call
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u/pmIfNeedOrWantToTalk 8h ago
Yep, absolutely.
Always take note of the people you aren't allowed to criticize.
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u/john1979af 8h ago
Like…how did he not learn his lesson the first time? Sure TNA is a company run by dummies but the blame also falls on Caster himself. His big debut in a new company and possibly a pipeline to the WWE. The guy learned nothing from when he got in trouble at AEW. Can easily blame TNA but he can also blame himself just as much.
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u/heartbreakhill Alexa, play Superman by Goldfinger 7h ago
While not a controversial one, my favorite of his was always “Lio Rush can’t handle this environment, he’s about to go into his fifteenth retirement”
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u/Randomman2012 7h ago
We gotta stop pretending these are free styles. These are pre-written, which makes them worse. Like, even if you ignore the edginess, he isn't even putting the "best" punchline at the end.
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u/paperbuddha 10h ago
I think he’s dumb saying this from a career standpoint, but I’m not offended at the line itself.
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u/MrGDPC 10h ago
I mean the glory hole line is probably as bad if not worse
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u/NesNobnaz 9h ago
I can forgive a joke about a bombing attack that killed people, but a joke about glory holes is where I draw the line.
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u/CasualWrestlingMeme 9h ago
Hey man that's not funny. My dad died in a glory hole. The whole thing really sucked.
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u/rbarton812 10h ago
Knowing Max's style, I knew 'Bound for Glory' was gonna turn into a gloryhole reference very quickly.
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u/KenshirouX 10h ago
The thing is, he should have had his lines approved before his debut, so unless he did, that's on him. He forgot who TNA's partner is; he should have been EXTRA CAREFUL about what he should and shouldn't say.
Man, it's so important to have the wrestlers in on the jokes. The way they gave off that "what's wrong with you" reaction made everything seem so much worse. Pity. I didn't mind it at all.
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u/MrGDPC 10h ago
I bet you it probably did have them approved or vetted but once the backlash came in they did an about face to appease
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u/rpgmind 9h ago
I think the bigger news is how’d they manage to get Steve Nash to ref for them?!
https://giphy.com/gifs/fjxPt66gaX6o1skUCn13
u/Former_Intern_8271 10h ago
He just seems like he can't stop flirting with self destruction, the acclaimed was such a massive success story when you look back, but I'm starting to see why Bowens probably didn't want to take the risk.
Most of his humour I'd say people are being too sensitive about but there's the odd line he'll drop in that really makes you raise an eyebrow about who he is, like the time he said some conspiracy stuff about covid
He's such a talent, he has everything it takes to get to the top, but just seems like he doesn't want to do it.
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u/mjac1090 9h ago
I mean, if he just took shots at the KSA government it wouldn't be a big deal imo but he's talking about a situation where innocent people were killed
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u/Maaaaaardy 10h ago
24 hours ago: Yay I went viral!
6 hours ago: Fuck, I went viral.
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u/Wiccy Ignorant bliss 10h ago
"I'm like Kobe!!"
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u/Destro_019780 10h ago
like Kobe Bryant at a hotel in Colorado, he's unstoppable
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u/Mud-Bray 9h ago
I remember watching PTP and wondering what suddenly happened to their weird live-mic manager. Good times
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u/GonePostalRoute 8h ago
And supposedly, if my timeline is correct on it, he basically double downed, cracked about Linda’s senate campaign as to why he got heat, and got fired for that.
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u/Conor_Electric 10h ago
Lol, it's mild as hell. Tna are pussies, and I mean that with no disrespect to actual pussy.
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u/Anchor_Aways 9h ago
Did they not look-up at least one of his prior freestyles? Now Max is gonna run around with a "canceled" shtick on the indies.
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u/theredditbandid_ 4h ago
It's mild.. but when the sponsors come calling it's out of your control. Everyone has a boss. I do not blame them whatsoever even if it's mild.
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u/FragMasterMat117 10h ago
God what a dumbass and why are TNA refs dressing like background Abercrombie and Fitch models?
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u/MacarioPro did you say churros? 10h ago
reminds me more of an e-sport team uniform. Leviatán especifically.
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u/PneumaticEmu 9h ago edited 8h ago
They announced refs shirts are from Lamelo Ball's clothing brand lol
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u/Jambronius 9h ago
That's a ref. I assumed that he was a manager doing something like bill Alfonso used to
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u/fridaynightarcade 10h ago
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u/Artistic_Ask_2282 9h ago
I haven’t watched TNA in ages, but does the ref uniform always look like something rejected by a European soccer team?
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u/WWECreativegenius Sabre Jr-Gun 8h ago
Wait that’s the ref???? Lmao I thought it was ZSJ for like 10 seconds
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u/bathorymcmahon 10h ago
was never a fan but it kinda blows my mind that this is what got him fired. moose gets caught up in domestic violence cases and always finds a way to bounce back, but this guy’s rap verse was offensive enough for him to lose his job? stupid as fuck
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u/Moist-Acanthaceae-37 10h ago
Moose’s domestic violence case happened 7 years before he ever set foot in TNA and he was punished by the NFL for it when it happened, why would TNA care about that in 2016 much less 2026 opposed to a guy going off script joking about a terrorist attack on their programming.
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u/bathorymcmahon 9h ago
imo beating the living shit out of a woman and showing no remorse or signs of change should give you social repercussions for life. it makes tna look further like shit for booking him despite his very public DV case, and i think that bringing in people like him and rewarding him kinda sets a precedent for how little they care about things like that. which is why i find it so ridiculous that they’d fire max caster over this. like of all things to put your foot down over??? didn’t they bring back tessa blanchard after her smacking a black woman around in japan and calling her the N word? we know wrestlers are flawed and often suck as people, but when shit like this just piles on and piles on, in one place, it gets to the point where you just feel like you’re watching malcontent assholes working in the last and only place that will book them for more then $500 per appearance. tna will always be odd, but i hate where they seem to be now.
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u/ShootedIntoAWork 9h ago
People have a bad reaction to words unfortunately. They act like it is literal physical pain and can't control themselves emotionally. It's Insane.
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u/InternationalPipe581 10h ago
Well that's mid in every single way to look at this. Mid lines, mid reaction, mid response from TNA...the whole thing is just sad.
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10h ago edited 9h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MARKYMARK_MARK 10h ago
Max has made this mistake too many times for him to try it during a debut.
And if TNA didn't get his rap approved beforehand then they were asking for something like this to happen.
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u/Juanzilla17 10h ago
So you signed Caster and let him freestyle without telling him he couldn’t touch certain subjects? Yeah…that’s all on TNA not Max. We all knew that was his schtick so why are you so shocked he would drop those lines?
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10h ago
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u/M00nd0g69 10h ago
Hire the edgy rapper guy
He raps edgily
Fire him for being too edgy
TNA wins again
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u/bandswithgoats TALK SHIT, GET SPIT 7h ago
I was trying to read this in Max Caster cadence until I hit the third line and realized that wasn't the goal.
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u/MafiaCub 7h ago
Same.
Platinum Max was on the Mic, but then he had to go away
Why did they sign him, everybody now, LOL TNA
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u/notathrowaway75 10h ago
People acting like he's fighting a noble cause and dropped a reference to Jamal Khashoggi instead of tastelessly referencing civilians being killed the day before to put himself over in a wrestling entrance.
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u/Hulk_Hogan_bro 9h ago
You know, this whole situation reminds me of a certain tragedy
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u/JimmyJoeJunior 9h ago
'Caster made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) October 11, 2026, at Bound for Glory), where he was defeated by Moose) after answering his open challenge.\42])\43]) During his entrance, Caster made unscripted and unapproved remarks referencing the October 2026 attacks on Saudi Arabian airports, drawing backlash from Saudi Arabian fans and TNA executives.'
Lol, TNA barely have fans in America, let's not pretend they have any fans in Saudi Arabia.
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u/CrissCrossAppleSos 10h ago
This is so nothing. Max has said some things that crossed the line. He’s said some borderline things. This was nothing. Soft AF
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u/itsnotaboutthecell 10h ago
Max wanted to come out with a home run - but this wasn’t it. I feel bad for him but at this stage how he isn’t working with producers to go over lines is his own fault.
If TNA producers allowed this - it’s their fault too.
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u/Jambronius 9h ago
It's the producers fault for now going over it with him. It's their responsibility not his.
One of them should be fired as well / instead.
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u/JNF919 10h ago
Even before it became controversial I was struck by just the total lack of reaction for him. Like, for a debuting wrestler with some name value on a big show, completely dead. I think that's the biggest part of why they're just cutting him now, you can live with some controversy if it's a hot angle, but there's just no point to dealing with it for someone who's totally inconsequential to the show.
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u/Anal-buttsex 10h ago
This form of speech is deemed unacceptable in a country that wants to hold a live execution and constantly jokes about bombing the Middle East … sorry but Max wins in my book, hopefully he can turn it into a positive.
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u/SometimesWitches 10h ago
Max Caster was over the line a few times on AEW as well but AEW has a higher tolerance for that and The Acclaimed were already a well received act by then. Caster is writing his raps like he is still at the top of AEW but in reality is in TNA who largely had no idea who he is.
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u/PaulPaulPaul 10h ago
I mean did they really not know who they were signing? This is his entire bit!
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u/Rude_Celebration_164 7h ago
- Whatever the character is, using an actual terrorist attack that just happened as a punchline is tasteless and 37 year old man Max Caster should know better.
- TNA should’ve known what they were getting into signing him and should’ve forced him to clear all raps before sending him out
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u/Venylynn Anti-Tribalist - Support All Wrestling 10h ago
Lol.
Max will never change. This is far from his first controversial rap. This is just insane atp. I don't even know if XPW would take him.
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u/PhilosopherIcy7783 10h ago
Yo listen
Platinum Max got himself in another ruck
Proving yet again that he’s dumb as fuck
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u/AliceRose000 9h ago
The rap itself was awful, it’s clear he’s dropped off since AEW. The line wasn’t even that bad, but getting zero reaction like that is cringe as well
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u/Extra_Stranger_7656 9h ago
Damn, I, honestly, was gonna tune in to see Max in TNA but I guess they dont want my money or eyes
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u/pizzalover89 9h ago
The funny thing about this was a bunch of people were saying finally max is back! Tony fumbled!!
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u/dontbesouritsanewday https://www.reddit.com/r/squaredcircleflair/wiki/flair 9h ago
As soon as he said the Riyadh line I winced. If was obviously going to piss off wwe
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