Jim Ross was the special referee for the dark match main event of the Smackdown taping last night. It was in his home state of Oklahoma.
Bob Barker will be at this year's WrestleMania in Atlanta. It is unknown how he will be used. I'm hoping for at least one backstage interview from him.
Here's a link to today's PWInsider.com questions. We start off with a proposal for the former Awesome Kong. Should she be on Tough Enough as a rookie to destroy the competition and have a big debut when she wins? I don't think that's the direction they're going for with Tough Enough. The original show featured virtual unknowns training to be wrestlers with little experience. It was a bit like NXT but I don't think these people were developmental wrestlers. The point of the show is to find that "diamond in the rough" who they can train to be a good wrestler. Kong's an established wrestler; there's no reason for her to be on Tough Enough.
Next up, a question about Sheamus' "de-push".
With the exception of the storyline with Santino and Kozlov, I don't think he's been pushed below upper mid-card status. John Morrison has mostly been elevated, instead of Sheamus dropping way down the card. They simply had other stars they wanted to use at that level I believe. I think the stuff with Santino and Kozlov was just a mishandled part of the story of Morrison and Sheamus. I could be wrong of course, but I don't think they'd consciously try to bring down someone they'd put that much effort into getting over and clearly see as important.
The next question is about why WWE is keeping NXT. Something a lot of people seem to have forgotten (and is pointed out in Scherer's answer) is that they have international deals to broadcast NXT. If they stopped making it, they'd have to come up with something else to fill all of those overseas timeslots. They already have some recap shows, so NXT might have been the best choice there. I don't know what WWE's plans are for Tough Enough internationally.
The final questioner asks if John Cena's current ring attire (the jean shorts) is hindering his work as compared to the more traditional tights he wore when he first debuted. It might have something to do with it. I know The Miz finds it easier to work without the heavy pants he was wearing up until recently. Either way, I see Cena as a pretty strong worker. It's pretty popular online to bash him, jean shorts or no jean shorts.
Jeff Hardy made reference to TNA's new "Cold Blood" trademark in a recent Tweet, so it could very well have something to do with he and/or Matt Hardy.
TNA has canceled its tapings from 2/28 and 3/1 in Orlando due to the 2/24 taping in Fayetteville.
Low-Ki, formerly WWE's Kaval, has an interview with Slam! Sports here. His decision to leave WWE was a mutual one, as they didn't have any plans for him any time in the near-term. There are no bad feelings between them. Low-Ki saw WWE more as a bonus for his 13 years in wrestling than a dream or goal.
As far as his being put on NXT, he didn't see it as disrespectful. The company wanted to see if he could survive under pressure and in particular circumstances. He saw his being paired with Laycool as just another challenge to make the best of. He got along great with them and they relaxed him. He did take issue with the backstage politics there and the goofiness of NXT, but doesn't come off as bitter as a lot of fans expected him to be (and are themselves) over the situation. As much as NXT entertains me sometimes with its goofiness, it's surely not the best way to get over future stars.
He thinks that being an "outside name" hurt his chances of being a success in WWE. WWE has a history of not pushing ex-WCW, ECW, and TNA stars as well until they've "paid their dues" there. The last point of the interview mentions his connections and past with TNA and ROH. His future with either company is uncertain. He still has more than 60 days on his no-compete clause. Either company would get a boost from having him on the roster.
Monday's Raw did a 3.3 rating. Ratings continue to be good going into the Rumble despite not having Triple H, Shawn Michaels (except for one brief surprise appearance), or Batista. Hopefully this trend continues going towards WrestleMania.
Jeff Hardy will be back in court tomorrow. He is expected to plead guilty to the charges against him. It is unknown if he will get any sort of deal or if he could be facing jail time. He's scheduled and advertised for a TNA tour in the UK beginning Friday.
That's all of today's news. More to come tomorrow.
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