Let's jump right into it with a look at today's PWInsider.com questions.
Firstly, will we see Edge vs. Triple H at a future WrestleMania in a possible retirement match?
I don't know if they'd do this one just because they both hold so many World Title reigns. It could remind fans "oh yeah, these two have been in a lot of main events" or even "oh yeah, the titles change hands a lot more than they used to". It's amazing to look at the title histories and see that these two each reached double-digits in reigns in less than a decade (It took Edge only a little over 5 years) when others have been around longer but don't have as much gold to show for it.
But to answer the question, I'd put this in the "maybe" category. Not something I'd put too high a likelihood on.
The next question asks about the top 3 entertaining promotions. I'll bow out of this one because I haven't seen much non-WWE wrestling and I don't want to base my opinions on 1 or 2 shows I've seen of another promotion, current or classic. They'd have to be consistently entertaining for me to bestow that honor on them.
For questions I will answer and the rest of today's news, read on.
Laycool is getting a fan following (typically from "smarter" fans) as they've gained respect for how well they work the roles and how they've improved in the ring, but I don't see them stopping being heels any time soon unless they do a breakup angle shortly. This is kind of like the opposite of the "turn John Cena heel" movement, but on a smaller scale.
An interesting situation explains the 4th question: the NWA World Title didn't change hands in Madison Square Garden because it was never decided upon to do that. The NWA had a group of promoters vote on who was going to be champion and when they were going to lose it (and to whom), and the voting never went that way.
WrestleMania IX was indeed one match short due to timing issues, or so I've read before. Not really anything to add there, because I have no idea how it would have gone.
WWE.com has an interview with Christian, where he updates his recovery status and plays up the storyline with Alberto Del Rio.
The 2/17 episode of Superstars drew a .49 rating, with the replay doing .19. And to think that ECW and NXT couldn't survive with doing close to a 1.0 on SyFy. If WWE continues to not put much focus on the show, the fans probably aren't going to care about it. It might as well be Velocity or Heat at this point. The wrestling's usually still pretty good, and the wrestlers make the most of the TV time, but it's not treated as important by WWE in the least.
Jim Ross says that he doesn't have any role at WM27 at present. Presumably Cole and Lawler won't be doing commentary that night, so WWE would have good reason to have him work then. I don't think anyone would complain if he returned to the booth then!
Al Snow talks about his current role in TNA and wrestlers using social media here. I see his point about wrestlers airing grievances there. Obviously they have the right to, but people are DEFINITELY going to comment on things they don't know the full story on. That's a huge part of wrestling news these days. I try to be fair in my coverage of these kinds of things, but I have an opinion like everyone else. As far as I know, TNA can't actually make their talents stop Tweeting or giving behind-the-scenes info, but I can see why they wouldn't be happy about it.
I don't really have a problem with wrestlers discussing the competition, because they have the right to their opinions. The burden is on them if they say something they might regret later.
I don't really get his talk about "smart marks". For those who aren't familiar with the term, it's someone who knows that wrestling is pre-determined, but still watches and follows it. It can also apply to those who follow the inner workings of the business. I don't really use the term to describe myself, although those definitions fit.
Fans like that aren't "believing" that the wrestling is real (if that's what he means by "the lie"), they just still choose to follow even though they know it's fictional. Like fans of any other fictional show. I don't really consider myself to be "inside" the business or a part of it, but I do consider my role as higher than that of a fan who doesn't follow some of the more inside news. The fans have a big stake in the wrestling business, because without it there's nothing for them to be wrestling fans of.
From a business standpoint, yes, the best match is the one that draws the most money. Critics can (and do) disagree on what match was actually the most entertaining. Financially, Transformers might be really good movies, but I would disagree that they're good from an artistic standpoint.
I don't really like the comments made by Dave Scherer to that interview. They're actually kind of unprofessional. Respectfully disagreeing is one thing, name calling isn't necessary. But hey, it's his website, he can say what he wants.
As far as the producing part, I don't remember the last time in TNA where someone was pushed as a potential title contender 6 months out where they didn't either drop the ball with them (Joe, Abyss, Dinero, Morgan, Hernandez) or execute it poorly (Anderson). Maybe Jeff Hardy, but that's the exception rather than the rule, and you could even argue that that was done poorly because of the Angle retirement aspect to it.
Smackdown's rating jumped up nicely to a 2.1 for the 600th Episode. As big as they booked that show, it certainly paid off.
TNA is advertising a shocking surprise for this Thursday's episode of Impact. A surprise would be giving it a good review, am I right? Seriously though, I'm somewhat interested. I wonder what the odds are of it being another "They" coming to TNA? I don't know how much buzz this will get for Thursday's Impact, but they're clearly being out-buzzed by WWE lately. It's hard to compete with Diesel, Booker T, Trish Stratus, Triple H, Stone Cold, The Rock and The Undertaker.
Bill DeMott, formerly known as Hugh Morrus, will be returning to WWE as a trainer for the relaunched Tough Enough. I remember him doing well in the first go-round.
Jim Ross is promoting a big news story for WWE that will break in Mexico soon. My initial hope was an announcement of a future WrestleMania there, but speculation by others leads to it having to do with the signing of Mistico.
That's all for today's ramblings. More to come tomorrow.
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