Query on TNA's six-sided ring, MITB notes including an injury, big WWE press conference, TNA press for UK fans, fallout from Cena's win, NXT injury notes, WWE main roster injury notes including Bryan update, WWE Network going up north, Angle update, Smackdown audience, Y2J update and Questions on gimmick PPVs, the Network, Great Muta and WWE authority figures

First up, a query:
1. TNA stopped using the six-sided ring when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came in. Getting rid of the "playpen" ring was part of their vision of the company. I actually like the four-sided ring better.

Randy Orton got 11 staples after the main event of Money In The Bank, and also banged up his arm. Obviously there are bumps and bruises inherent in the business, but it feels like injuries are becoming more common as big gimmick matches pile up.

Update: Orton underwent concussion testing before Raw. Obviously he competed that night, so he must have passed. I wonder what WWE would have booked for Battleground if he wasn't cleared.

Chris Nowinski, NFL's DeAngelo Williams and Josh McDaniels, ESPN's Robert Flores and Mick Foley's children were visiting at Money In The Bank. Foley notably wasn't there. I'm glad Nowisnki and WWE are on good terms.

Everything else from Monday is after the break.

WWE is holding a press conference in Japan on July 12, where they're set to announce the debut of a new WWE superstar. Hulk Hogan will be in attendance. This is all-but-confirmed to be KENTA. I'm excited for him coming to WWE!

TNA has an announcement of their own due around that time in the UK. This could just be something that affects that market, but some are speculating it will be the announcement of a new TV deal in the U.S.. My guess is the announcement of a UK PPV, like Japan got Bound For Glory. That could be exactly what TNA needs to get buzz.

Update: It's believed this will be an announcement for a TV series in the British market. That's disappointing for us in the U.S., but it's cool TNA is doing that.

There was quite a bit of online activity with people looking at how to cancel their WWE Network subscriptions following Cena's win at MITB. That's pretty telling of the backlash toward the decision. I hope WWE takes notice. If Network subscriptions aren't pretty going forward, WWE should take this into account.

Former WWE announcer Rebecca DiPietro visited at MITB. I don't remember her at all.

Dolph Ziggler thanked the fans for their support at Sunday's PPV. Time to push this guy again.

NXT's Scott Dawson has returned to the ring. He's got a pretty entertaining gimmick. He reminds me a lot of Jamie Noble, character-wise. 

In other NXT injury notes, Marcus Louis is out with a leg injury. Cal Bishop is out due to a torn rotator cuff. I haven't seen a lot of either's work. I wish them a speedy recovery!

Daniel Bryan is undergoing physical therapy to regain strength after his neck surgery. It's possible he'll need an additional surgery. If that's the case, he could miss the rest of 2014. That REALLY sucks. I hope he's back and better than ever soon. It's REALLY time to push some new acts in his absence. The former Shield, Cesaro, Wyatt, Ziggler, Barrett, etc. need to be elevated. I also think it's coming close to time to bring up Sami Zayn from NXT so he can start making a splash.

WWE is gearing up to launch the WWE Network in Canada. As part of that process, they put out a survey asking Canadian fans if they should acquire the rights to air Canadian promotions there. That could be pretty cool. Most interestingly, the list of promotions includes the currently active Border City Wrestling, run by former TNA personality Scott D'Amore. It would be interesting to see if WWE and D'Amore would come to terms to air that. I would think WWE would consider them competition, especially with D'Amore working with Jeff Jarrett for GFW.

Here are some live notes from MITB. I'm not looking forward to all the complaints about Cena as champ. I think those might be worse than Cena actually being champ. It'd be different if those complaints reached WWE's ears and had a chance of affecting things, but it's generally just letting off steam and doesn't add anything constructive to the table.
















Kurt Angle has continued his role as director of wrestling operations for TNA at live events. I'm glad they're using his star power on live events. He's probably the biggest name they have left.

Smackdown's audience on Friday was 2.97 million, an increase of roughly 200,000. That's pretty good!

Cesaro suffered an eye injury during his match on Raw. His eye became swollen and there was a scratch on it. He was given an eye patch and underwent additional testing. OUCH. As cool as he'll look with an eye patch, that sounds painful. I hope it's a quick recovery.

Chris Jericho is expected to stay with WWE at least through Night of Champions on September 21. I'm all for a Jericho/Wyatt feud. Jericho always delivers in his short comebacks, so I don't have any complaints with this one.

For my take on Monday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I pretty much completely agree here! Nowadays we have gimmicks that need feuds instead of feuds that need gimmicks. The generation of fans coming up today won't see gimmick matches as they should be seen: the culmination of a big feud that has gotten so heated, it requires some kind of special stipulation to end it. That said, MITB as its own PPV is fine by me. I view it like the Royal Rumble in that regard. Mania should be big enough without a MITB match. With MITB as its own event, more focus can be put on what should be a career-defining match for the winner.

2. That makes sense on their part. There is SSSSOOOO much content. They have to prioritize.

3. Netflix does the same thing. I don't know what people were expecting with the Network. It seems to me like a lot of people are overreacting. They promised "Monday Night War". They didn't promise a particular time for it to start. It makes sense to roll it out at the time of renewals.

4. I hope he ends up in the WWE Hall of Fame at least. I respect him sticking to his guns and doing what he wants to do in Japan.

5. Vince and Foley during the Attitude Era, Bischoff on Raw, Teddy Long, Paul Heyman, Vickie when she was with Edge and Regal as NXT GM all stick out as strong performances. The gimmick definitely is way overdone in today's wrestling, but there have been times when they added to the show. I agree that the focus should be on the wrestlers.

More wrestling later.