Counting Lights

Hey y'all, Just got to buying the game this week and having an issue with the CAWs that have hidden entrance animations (Keith Lee, John Morrison, Malakai Black, etc). When I select one of them, the load screen just freezes on me and the game either stays frozen or eventually the "2k23 has stopped working" box pops up. Same with opening them in CAEntrance. However, I can open them in CASuperstar with no issue. I'm on PC and have tried reinstalling the game & updating my drivers. No luck. Any ideas what might be causing this?

Yes. Exactly.

This is what I'm hoping for now. But I have this weird feeling it'll be Solo. He keeps being THE reason Roman is retaining in big matches and they're really protecting him. Idk, a hunch.

With the nuclear heat Dom is getting, a reconciliation would be an HORRID move. It'd kill any and all momentum Dom has built immediately. Highly recommend giving the 4 team showcase a watch, it was super fun.

My first time live at Mania in the books! I was way up top and facing the stage, so my read on the mass crowd reaction might be off on some things? -I was one of the few booing Cena, not even very seriously, but all the kids in my section were rather upset with me when he lost lol -4 Way Showcase was fun, wish Alpha won -Sucked hearing how quiet people were for Damage Control at first, but I was glad more people started reacting to them as the match progressed -I wasn't super invested in Rey vs Dom, but the crowd was hot and it was very fun to be part of it -Rhea & Charlotte delivered, but gotta say it was SUCH a relief when Rhea won, def my second biggest pop of the night. There was one lady right behind me who looooved Charlotte (one of very few I could hear) but she brought out these god awful pteradactyl screeches for this match that really hurt my ears -McAfee was a huge letdown for the surprise, but an appreciated chance to run to the bathroom before the main! -The main event was so great. Not an amazing wrestling match per se, but an awesome emotional spectacle. It felt so awesome watching Sami & KO main event a Mania night and so many of those near falls worked me. Obviously went nuts for Sami winning. My throat is kinda killing me so while I was thinking about snagging a ticket for Night 2, I might hold off and enjoy from home. Especially since the matches I had emotional investment in were tonight. Tomorrow has matches I'd like to see, but maybe not drop a whole lot of money to see lol

Found some decent seats at a good price for Night 1, guess I'm making my Mania debut lol. Wish them bastards put the IC title match night 1 as well. Might go to Night 2, but I'll prolly buy the ticket day of if I do. Mainly just wanna be there for Sami/KO vs Uso's

I think Bronson works better as a face. I always thought he had this weird natural likeability. Anyway, very fun show. Mens chamber was insane. Womens was very fun, I just didn't care for half the field. Lashley/Lesnar was my chance to go make a drink. Zayn/Roman was such good storytelling. The way that crowd just... died. Wow. Still hoping beyond hope good guy Cody demands that the right be wronged since Sami had Reigns pinned and says Sami should get one of the belts at Mania because all he really cares about is the WWE title...

Sasha was excellent until she started incorporating high flying moves into her arsenal. Her general psychology changed after that. But in NXT? Girl gave us some of the best womens matches of all time against Becky & Bayley.

Hangman's promo was so dope. Dude is such a natural face. I keep blissfully forgetting Jeff Jarrett is a thing and any time he shows up I get a rude awakening. I hope they get this feud over with. I liked Ruby vs Tay a lot. MJF should never take a powerbomb again lol. Overall match was really good though, so were both solo promos. Solid Dynamite.

Vince was just accused of rape by a former ref the other day. Between this and all the other allegations... why would anyone want him back? https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/12/13/vince-mcmahon-reportedly-facing-another-sexual-assault-allegation-and-wwe-referee-asks-for-millions-in-damages/?sh=2654fab93705

The stigma around sex work of any kind is egregious. What a shit reason to be let go. I haven't watched NXT or Mandy's work in ages, but I feel for her.

I watched the two scramble of the mountain matches, actually very fun. I didn't know the people very well, but I really liked Roxanne so glad she won.

I really dug Kross's trainer room promo to Rey. And the look is working for me. I really wish the dude wasn't a sleeping pill in the ring.

They really have a star with Starks. Obviously MJF needs to win this one, but I'm in on Ricky dethroning him in a few months time.

Just finished it. Womens WG was.... iffy. Lot of botched/mistimed spots, from some normally excellent workers like Io. Finn vs AJ was such a letdown. Standard RAW match that was frankly... kinda boring. Skipped Ronda/Shotzi, both are ass. Triple Threat was fun but I didn't have a dog in the fight. Mens WG was excellent storytelling. 10/10

I think it comes down to what he wants to do. If it's backstage work, he'll be back in WWE. But if he wants to continue working on screen he'll likely stick around.

Quick thoughts, in reverse - I don't know/care about Ishii but the main event was fun. Glad they ditched the interim BS for the womens belt. Can't help but think the women should've had two proper segments though? Let Britt & Hayter have a full promo, then do a standard tag for TayJay vs Willow/Blue. Are they really shackling the dull, drab, uninteresting carcasses of Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal to The Acclaimed for a program? Elite vs DT was very fun. But ffs this whole post-brawl out situation has been so unbelievably toxic. The FU chants for both Punk on Saturday and Elite last night were uncalled for in my honest opinion. This is wrestling's equivalent of investing too much in random celebrity drama that has no effect on your life and it's bringing out the worst in everyone. Glad Starks beat Ethan. The latter offers nothing overly new or interesting to me. Starks needs to get some fire back though, but I'm sure he and Max can duel on the mic. HOUSE OF BLACK ARE BACK LETS GOOOOO!!! Orange/Hager was so much fun. It's dumb, but this "I LIKE MY HAT"" gimmick for Hager is genuinely entertaining as hell and meshed with OC's shenanigans so well. Opening promo was... interesting. I'm kinda curious what happens next? Danielson to ditch Moxley, join with Regal/MJF for a while? Maybe eventually be the one who beats MJF?

I'm just sick and tired of this still being a conversation point. Can we all move on already?

Watched Rampage over breakfast. Brian Cage vs Dante Martin was actually really fun. Shame about Best Friends this week, I love them but they were involved with the two most boring groups in the company this week and their matches were insta-skips for me.

Maybe they'll surprise me, but I have a bad feeling about it. Shotzi ain't great and Ronda is very hit or miss.

There were some rumblings a while back Logan was hella right wing, which probably implies Rowe is too given they're married. Sucks cuz like... I love the gimmick. I listen to a shit ton of folk punk so this shit is definitely my vibe, but I'd be lying if that wasn't in the back of my mind when she showed up. Weird given she's tight with Ruby & Liv who don't seem like they'd be down with that at all.

Theory ain't World champ material yet IMHO. Had he won it, would've probably been a transitional champ who then fell off for a while ala Randy Orton's first run (best case scenario, anyway). He only got the case cuz he was a Vince project and I think Trips is right to hold off for now. That said, man, dude looked like an absolute idiot the way he got booked. Time to rehab him a bit. In general, lots of choices have been making me scratch my head lately. I guess HHH is just assembling the dominos from how Vince dropped them, but I for one can't wait until WrestleMania is over and done with so they can run a draft and hopefully things can really get in the groove.

Ya know, with Triple H bringing back all these old projects of his, I would love if he could wrangle Sanity back for another run. They had one of the worst post-NXT runs I can remember.

Aight, but this isn't MMA. It's pro wrestling. It's a soap opera featuring a stunt show that mimics a real fight in the most absurd way. Real world clout doesn't really matter when you go out there to play a character. I mean hell, Bobby Fish just tried to pull the "I'm a legit badass" card and that shit didn't fly with anyone. An actor doesn't need to actually murder someone to play a serial killer on TV, know what I mean? Orange is an absurd, over-the-top character yeah, but he's not presented the way a Santino Marella was, where he occasionally gets lucky. It's consistently noted that Cassidy's entire persona is a massive mind game to keep people from taking him seriously.

See undercard is weird phrase. On the one hand it means anyone not main event, but it carries such a stink on it and you only ever see it used negatively. I split my rankings more as Main Event > Upper Midcard > Lower Midcard > Enhancement OC is top of the Upper Midcard to me. A guy who can main event a weekly with no issues and someone who you can have face your World Champ in a perfect "he probably won't win but... shit he might" matchup. This is how he's been presented since day 1 and it works. Crowd reaction alone solidifies that. It's not just about who he's beaten, it's also about how he lost to some. This is a guy who has taken Cody & Omega to their limits, two of the undisputedly best of the best AEW has ever had. More recently, he took Ospreay to the limit. Not everything is about wins/losses and Orange is a guy who can consistently look strong even in defeat by stealing the show. The wins against people like Jericho & Cole that you mentioned go to show that he can pull out a win over some of the best too. For a guy who has only now actually won a title, he's been presented exceptionally well. I also don't think we can call Jay Lethal a lower midcarder. He's been constantly featured for months on end, feuding with Upper Midcarders like Darby, Wardlow & Joe while challenging for both the TNT & TV belts. Not even a fan of his, but c'mon.