WWE was said to be very happy with the Payback PPV. They should be! I don't 100% agree with every direction they took, but there have definitely been worse PPVs.
Jack Swagger goes to trial next Monday. It's a shame that such a talented performer made such a bad mistake.
Joe Bailey passed away this weekend. He promoted Bad to the Bone Wrestling in Kentucky.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Here's more from Kevin Nash's recent interview. The opening lock-up can certainly be important.
Mr. McMahon and Triple H are now being advertised for Raws past Money In The Bank.
I hope WWE gets whatever kind of ratings bump they want from featuring them, because they don't really add much to the show for me. If Vince and HHH each "sponsored" a wrestler like Heyman does Axel to elevate their careers or.. you know, ANYTHING that got over the regular stars of the show who could use a boost, I'd be ok with it. But for now they're just "guest stars" who meddle with things. Vince did put over The Shield on Raw and Stephanie was a good addition to AJ vs. Kaitlyn, but other stuff just seems like excuses to put them in segments (the stuff with Vickie and Maddox).
Smackdown got 2.32 million viewers, the lowest number of the year. WWE needs to give Smackdown some love. Why can't they use the McMahons to boost THOSE ratings?
Mr. Perfect and Curtis Axel are now the first father-son duo to have held the Intercontinental Championship. Cool, cool. Glad Axel's finally getting a chance to shine. He's not "perfect", but he's got some good stuff going for him and I think it's worth taking a chance in pushing him. He's definitely hungry.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. TNA isn't a charity. They're trying to make as much money as possible and charging for pics with those two is a way to do it. Obviously, it'd be great to take pictures with them for free, but TNA wants to make money from the venture.
2. Good question! WWE would have still had DX, The Rock, Taker, Kane, Mankind, etc. so I think they would have still been in a good position. I really doubt that WCW would have pushed Austin. Gotta keep Hogan and Nash strong, brother. WCW was definitely good at signing away talents, but using them well? Not necessarily their strong suit. Bischoff insists that Austin wouldn't talk to him, so he "had" to fire him via FedEx. But, yeah, after Goldberg's streak ended and the nWo got bloated, they were in-between a rock and a hard place creatively. Not to mention that AOL Time Warner execs weren't exactly in Bischoff's corner once Turner left.
3. Time will tell, but things are good for now. I think it's just that they like Kane, Bryan, and The Shield enough to push them strong. I hope we see something of a tag team renaissance, but I'm not holding my breath. Pretty much every other team but Hell No and The Shield is significantly lower on the totem pole.
4. "Dude, why should I watch Lord of the Rings? It's obvious that Frodo's going to drop the ring in Mount Doom. lolTOLKIEN." People get way too caught up in the "I know what's going to happen" thing. And yes, there were some cool surprises and storylines coming up.
5. I think it's in progress. The Shield, Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, and Curtis Axel all in (relatively) good spots? I'm impressed. Things aren't perfect and Cena's still on top, but I think things are definitely improving. And the Wyatt Family's on the way! There are reasons to be hopeful, but as always it remains to be seen how long good things last.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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