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Thursday, April 17, 2014

Real Americans update, WWE logo changeover, WWE going to new market, more from the Network, Sting on WWE Network (!), TNA Sacrifice lineup, AJ Lee-WWE update, more on Warrior passing, 3MB update, WWE roster travel nightmares, EY on tour with the title, Sabin-TNA update, Raw script leaks, another WWE PPV set, Interview with AJ Styles, WWE star injured and Questions on Sting vs. Taker, the WM30 opening segment, Bryan vs. Sheamus, the WWE Network and credits

There's talk of Jack Swagger having a new partner to replace Cesaro. I think Sandow would fit well, but maybe they should go in a completely different direction and use a smaller high-flyer to balance with Cesaro. If they wanted to find a new use for someone not currently doing anything (Hawkins, Otunga, etc.), that's definitely an option for them to be plugged back in. Evan Bourne would be a cool addition from a style standpoint, but I suspect they're just waiting out his contract after those two Wellness strikes.

WWE plans to change to its new logo by August. It's time, really. They're a different company from who they were when they debuted the scratch logo.

WWE has plans on expanding internationally and will be holding a live event in Malaysia later in the year. That's pretty cool.

The WWE Network will continue to expand this spring and summer to new devices. It's a big deal for them.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Sting appeared on the WWE Network with comments on the Ultimate Warrior's passing. That's truly amazing for those who though they'd never see him work with the company. Still no official word on him being signed.

The current lineup for TNA Sacrifice:
- TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Eric Young vs. Magnus
- TNA Knockout Championship: Madison Rayne vs. Angelina Love
- Tables match: Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode
- "I Quit" match: Gunner vs. James Storm

That's a pretty good lineup so far. TNA re-signing Gunner and Storm was a great break for them.

AJ Lee has asked for and received time off from WWE. She's earned it after being Divas' Champion for so long. It makes more sense why they put the title on Paige now.

B. Brian Blair discussed the effects of performance-enhancing drugs on the lives of wrestlers. There are some serious issues to be addressed as far as substance abuse in wrestling. WWE's certainly made a lot of progress since the passings of Guerrero and Benoit, though, and that can't be overlooked.

Hornswoggle being part of 3MB was due to Heath Slater being on WWE's Saudi Arabian tour. Hornswoggle as 3MB's mascot sort of works I guess. 3MB is a cool group.

Variety looked at WWE's WrestleMania numbers. Good read.

SB Nation looked at WWE roster hotel horror stories. Talk about some seriously bad and/or weird stuff to go through.

Here's a sobering look at early wrestling deaths. The story about the WWE building is pretty funny, but the rest is very depressing.

Warrior's wife wrote an inspiring letter about WWE and its fans. I hope she stays strong in the years to come.

Eric Young is taking the TNA World Championship with him on adventures. I'm still not really sold on him as champion, but this was cool.

Chris Sabin is beginning to take bookings outside of TNA, further signifying his likely departure from the promotion. Neither TNA nor Sabin have officially confirmed his leaving, but the writing is believed to be on the wall. Currently his first date outside TNA is on May 9.

Here's a piece on WWE coming to Saudi Arabia.

Someone posted a draft from Raw's script. How awesome is this!? They actually scripted what Lana says in Russian. Pretty cool. As bad as Cena's stuff is in this draft, it's much better than what actually happened. Raod Dogg's back to producing and Sami Zayn's listed as available. All in all, a lot of interesting notes there.

WWE Night of Champions will air Sept. 21. With only five championships, I think they should change the name of the show.

AJ Styles had a big Q&A about TNA, GFW and more. TNA is under constant attack for some reason or another, but a good deal of it feels fairly justified at this point. It feels like a lot of names are leaving or will be in the coming weeks and months. I don't think they're near bankruptcy or anything, but things don't look as good for them as a lot of wrestling fans would like from the No. 2 national company.

Darren Young tore an ACL this weekend and is set to miss 4 to 6 months of action. Young's a very hard worker and I'm sure he wants to be back RIGHT NOW, but this should be a time for him to re-evaluate things. He'll be gone long enough to more or less be out of fans' minds. He should use this time to retool who he is and come back renewed and with something new or different to bring to the table if he wants to break out of the rut he's currently in. Young's a good worker from a technical standpoint and is definitely improving as a character, but doesn't strike me as an indispensable part of the roster or someone who stands out enough to get a big push. Hopefully that changes once he's fully recovered.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It is always important to note that by WM31, WCW will have been defunct for 14 years. That's really a long time in wrestling terms. If WWE can make the prospect of a 50-year-old Taker vs. a 56-year-old Sting exciting and both men think they can put on a passable encounter then, more power to everyone involved, but it seems like the bloom's off the rose there. I definitely think we need to wait to see what Taker's health is like before jumping on anything like this.

2. Oh yeah, that would definitely get him booed! I think the segment worked well as a reminder of the past while putting over the stars of the future - Cena got some nods, but so did some other up-and-comers. I wouldn't have changed it at all other than the Silverdome/Superdome stuff. Honestly that ended up adding to it as well in its own way.

3. Sheamus in the Authority could have been interesting, but what we ended up getting was much better.

4. I'd say most of what we've seen from WM30 onward has been really good and exciting. There's potential for some really great stuff. And then there's Cena and Big Show.

5. As much as I agree about there being a lot of unsung heroes who deserve acknowledgement, I also think the focus needs to be on the wrestlers and the stories they're telling. If there wasn't the whole kayfabe thing, I'd probably agree with there being credits.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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