NBCUniversal is considering making a WWE Hall of Fame attraction at Universal Studios as part of the ongoing negotiations to keep showing Raw and Smackdown. I hope WWE really comes out as winners here. How is NASCAR considered a more viable brand in 2014?
C.M. Punk gave a big interview, highlighted here. I'd think he'd talk to HHH to re-sign. I can see some weird similarities between the workaholicism of Punk and Vince. The company has changed since 2011, but it hasn't been revolutionized in a way some would like. People are going to complain about Batista being in big matches no matter what. If he brings more eyeballs to the product to see the likes of Bryan, etc., I think it's a good move. I definitely think Punk should have gotten more time off, but Payback 2013 was in Chicago and I guess they felt he had to have a match then. After reading Beadle's side, it sounds like it could have been a misunderstanding between Punk and Beadle. I hope they can put it behind them some day.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Mike DiBiase, son of Ted Sr., was arrested recently. Always really sad to see something like this.
Update: Ted Sr. commented. I hope this turns Mike's life around.
Daniel Bryan talked about the Royal Rumble and more. There are going to be a lot of let-down people if Bryan doesn't have a big match at Mania, leading to him eventually getting revenge on HHH and winning the WWE Title. It only makes sense for the end of the story.
Cody Rhodes and Goldust will be part of the 1/30 NXT taping. Champions vs. champions with The Ascension would be nice.
Dolph Ziggler has been working out in preparation for a return from concussion. Still no word on a Rumble appearance.
Here's a piece on the WWE Performance Center, quoting Triple H. He's done amazing things behind-the-scenes in the past few years.
Justin Gabriel was interviewed. I'm glad he got a college degree before going on to wrestle so he has something to fall back on.
The original Sin Cara talked about his post-WWE career. He's officially done with the company now. I think it was just a case of them wanting him to adapt what he did to WWE's style than stop doing what made him famous altogether. There were some notable changes there.
Impact's audience on Thursday was 1.56 million for the Title vs. Career match with Sting. It was the highest mark in almost a full year for the promotion. From that standpoint, it's a good place for Sting to call it a night as far as TNA goes. I think he earned that Hall of Fame induction for his years there.
Daniels took aim at speculation of him being cut from TNA when his contract expires in April. I think Kazarian's deal could be up around that time as well. Both men have done great things for the company and I'd hate to see them leave. At the end of the day, though, TNA is a business and that can mean tough decisions.
TNA has added Impact and PPV tapings in Orlando to their calendar, which will set them up through the middle of May. That's a relief. They're going through a rough patch, but I think they can come out of it if they steer the ship right.
Update: They were able to secure the tapings in Orlando by doing them on the weekends, when they'd normally do live events. So, they won't make money from live events on those days, but they'll have TV tapings where they might not have before. It's a trade-off.
TNA will have a live PPV in April, possibly Destination X. I think they might want to save that one for the summer to potentially spice up the title picture. Bully's title reign was bad enough in 2013. Imagine if there wasn't that one month break with Sabin as champ.
Slammiversary will also be a thing again this year, though no location has been set. Every year is supposedly the year they'll go out of business. I guess the "smarks" will get it right one year.
The One Night Only PPV concept will continue for other dates, presumably doing some of the same concepts as previous ONO events.
Some speculate that Vince Russo is back in TNA in a creative capacity. This has not been confirmed, and he was not at the Genesis tapings. Well, there WAS a pole match. As well as other big gimmick matches. So I don't guess it's out of the question.
There's a lot of speculation that former WWE star MVP is on his way into TNA as part of the investor storyline. That'd be great! Of note, he owns the rights to that character and was part of TNA for a spell before going to WWE. He's been working in Japan for the past few years, and made some appearances at Tommy Dreamer's House of Hardcore promotion.
TNA and AJ Styles continue to be in contact. There's still speculation of him returning despite signing on for dates with Ring of Honor. I'd be open to him returning after testing the waters on the indie scene.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. My body is really ready for Kharma vs. AJ. I definitely think she would have made a big splash. And, note to HHH, she still can! Sign her back.
2. Pretty much every match on Main Event, almost all of Superstars and a number of matches on the main shows are like this. Ditto for a lot of live event matches. There's a LLLLOOOTTTT of wrestling on TV these days. The thing is, though, what's the point of putting out a lot of matches without a reason for the matches? There's a reason NFL pre-season games aren't as important as regular season games between heated rivals and the Super Bowl: there's not nearly as much reason to be invested in something when the wins and losses don't have many consequences.
3. I definitely saw the similarity. The Wyatt motif is that Rowan's a sheep following the unmasked leader. Not really the same as that movie.
4. I know they'll have warnings for shows with Benoit matches. I can see them running Over The Edge with a similar warning, BUT they could also not want to poke the beehive with Martha Hart. The last thing they need is more heat from her.
5. Ignore those first two sentences and you have your answer. Magnus only agreed to waive the Bully Ray stipulation so Sting would put his contract on the line. It was done to write Sting off before his contract expires in reality. This wasn't a case of them throwing away a storyline for the hell of it: it was done to make Sting's possible final TNA match extremely meaningful.
6. I never really thought about that argument. I saw it more in the lines of Vince not feeling WWE was just a
More wrestling tomorrow.
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