Here are some live reports from Extreme Rules. The C.M. Punk chants were definitely audible. I still don't think he's coming back any time soon.
Rob Van Dam had some bruising and swelling as well as a cut following the Five Star Frog Splash trash can spot. Other than that, there haven't been any injury reports. That's a surprise given how physically intense the show was.
Bo Dallas is expected to debut on the main roster within a month's time. The character has a lot of potential if the reactions he's gotten so far are any indication. He's been pretty entertaining in NXT.
WWE has christened their summer live events as "The Summerslam Heatwave Tour". I think it's smart of them to push the Summerslam name on live events. It's supposed to be a big event after all.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
The Jarretts posted another video update on the creation of GFW, focusing on scouting talent in Pennsylvania. More details are expected to be released next month. Everything looks good so far, but there's still a lot that's unrevealed that will be pivotal in seeing whether the venture will be successful.
Justin Credible talked about babyfaces making comebacks in matches. I can't recommend Pro Wrestling 101 enough. It's all about the energy of a match and telling a story. Unfortunately that's lost at times because performers focus on their cool moves and spots and not taking the crowd for a journey.
The Washington Post picked up the Vladimir Putin reference from Extreme Rules. Those upset at WWE's use of Putin are missing the point. They want to associate Rusev with Putin precisely because of his negative reputation. WWE's goal is to get us to boo Rusev and see him as a villainous character we want babyfaces to overcome. Of course they're going to try to associate him with someone who already gets a negative reaction from people.
Maria Kanellis talked about her feud with the Bellas, HHH's work behind-the-scenes and more. I'm glad that feud got squashed, because it was rather juvenile.
Seth Rollins' jump from Extreme Rules was picked up by USA Today. That was quite the memorable brawl!
Smackdown's audience on Friday was 2.27 million viewers. That's the lowest mark in roughly ten months. I hope it rebounds in the weeks and months to come, because WWE's product has been pretty great lately.
Daniel Bryan was originally slated to face Batista on Raw instead of Alberto Del Rio. Batista's protecting his image. I think things were fine with Bryan vs. Del Rio. In fact, I think it worked better to save Batista for the last segment of the show.
After Raw, John Cena confronted Bray Wyatt, leading to a match. Cena won via DQ when Rowan and Harper interfered. Cena then disposed of the Family with Attitude Adjustments before celebrating with the crowd. I'm glad Cena didn't take his heat away during the show with a promo basically blowing Wyatt off. Good move.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Yeah, in this day and age, WWE is a much bigger deal than Shane Douglas is. He's not that big of a blip on their radar anymore for them to have heat with him.
2. I think that's a pretty fair argument. Fans were definitely wanting him to turn face. I can see where the sentiment of Heyman overshadowing him comes from, especially since Heyman's other client... well, you know. I think it could still end up being beneficial for Cesaro, though. He's getting a good push and spotlight out of it.
3. I imagine there are some different demographics watching "Total Divas" compared to your standard WWE audience. In other words, there are people watching that show who don't care about Raw and vice versa. I do wonder if there's any detrimental effect on how Divas are seen now that that show's on the air. There's definitely an argument to be made of it portraying the Divas negatively. WWE probably just sees it as another revenue stream and that outweighs the whole "breaking kayfabe" aspect, etc..
4. Yeah, TNA has to handle DVD distribution in house now and that slows things down. I also doubt there's a huge demand for it since they have all the online options to watch it.
5. They'd have to find a new TV home and someone else to finance them. Even if that happened, I imagine a number of names would bail to go to WWF or just stay at home altogether if they couldn't get a new fat contract like the ones they had in WCW. I think it would still have probably been left behind by WWF, but I suppose with the right people in charge they could have survived. Maybe they would have picked up some ECW talents once it folded and bought aboard some talents who instead went to ROH and TNA? There are some interesting possibilities.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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