Ring of Honor talents will indeed be able to work the NJPW PPV on January 4, despite it being distributed by GFW. I'm glad that's going to work out for everyone. I wouldn't assume this is leading to some sort of working agreement between ROH and GFW, but at least the two sides are on friendly terms at the moment.
WWE has announced a two-year extension to their TV contract in Spain. That's good news!
Brock Lesnar is advertised for the February 9 Raw. I imagine he'll be on TV fairly regularly during Mania season.
An upcoming edition of Mick Foley's standup tour is believed to be being taped for the WWE Network. I wonder how well that will do for the company.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Here's a piece on WWE taping Tribute to the Troops next month. I'm glad WWE is still doing that annually.
The most recent Impact Wrestling drew 970,000 viewers. This is the only time I can find of them being below a million viewers for three straight weeks (at least in the two-hour, prime time on Spike days). The shows have been almost all home run segments lately as far as hard-hitting matches and prominent TNA names. It's just I think a lot of people have given up on the company. It's going to be an uphill battle to get an audience in 2015 if it's just pre-emptions and clip shows after next week.
Here's a report from a recent NXT live event. A few notes:
- Is Darren Young cleared to come back in the ring? He hasn't even worked a live event since the comeback video.
- It looks like we know officially what the tag team title match for the next Takeover will be. I look forward to it.
- Dillinger continues to experiment with gimmicks. That's what these live events are for.
The Great Khali has been removed from the active WWE roster, signifying an end to his career there. I'm only slightly surprised given his current physical state. I imagined they'd want to keep him on as an ambassador or something, but they only have so much of a budget to play with. Retirement's probably the right move for him as far as wrestling goes.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I do think it's a vicious cycle. They focus on Cena so much because he's the top merch seller, etc., but maybe he's still the top merch seller to a large degree because WWE won't get behind anyone else to that level.
2. I don't think it's time to worry about who should beat Rusev. Keep pushing him! But, I like the idea of his loss being used to elevate another deserving talent. Maybe Itami, Balor, or Owens? They'd have to be built right, though. Sadly, Sami Zayn has already lost to Tyson Kidd on the main roster and it would be harder to take him seriously unless they conveniently ignore those matches. There will be a huge outcry if he loses to Cena. Maybe a returning Daniel Bryan would be a better choice?
3. There continues to be no movement inside WWE to move away from the PG rating and philosophies.
4. There have definitely been stumbling blocks for the Network, but I think that move was a gamble worth taking. They want the Network to be a really big deal, and there's no bigger deal in wrestling than WrestleMania.
5. I definitely enjoy Justin Gabriel. I think he makes a good utility player. As for the fans in question, they're part of the seemingly growing trend of terrible crowds who make the show about themselves. I'd be seriously reconsidering where to run shows during the next European tour if I was WWE.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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