WWE spotlighted the success of WM30 for New Orleans in a piece promoting WM31. Very impressive numbers. At this point, I think Hogan teasing getting back in the ring might just be a publicity ploy. It's an effective one, though.
Vince McMahon came out during a commercial break at Smackdown to rile up a crowd he felt wasn't reacting enough. The crowds for the current European tour have been pretty "contrarian" in the sense of taking over the show, etc.. It's a shame. I think they do have some legitimate grievances, though, as far as the Network goes.
Former goalkeeper Tim Weise will be part of an upcoming WWE live event in some fashion. He's definitely built. I'm curious as to how he'd do in the Performance Center.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Here are highlights of a recent Hernandez interview. Needless to say, he's not a big fan of his time in TNA. I appreciate him being candid.
Here's a big Edge interview. Good stuff. In order:
- I hope we see Christian branch out and have a successful career after wrestling. He's a pretty underrated performer.
- He's got good things to say about why the Attitude Era worked. Sadly, those in power probably won't listen.
- He's dead-on about Cena as a babyface. People need to let this one die unless Cena's merch numbers, requests for Make-A-Wish, etc., really take a hit.
Here are highlights from Vince Russo's interview with the author of "Death of WCW". This one's also worth breaking down point-by-point:
- It should be said at the get-go this isn't an amazing book, and definitely shouldn't be taken as the gospel for why WCW went under. There are elements of truth to it, but it leaves out or mischaracterizes things as well.
- There's a severe lack of documentation in the book. I know it's not an academic research paper, but a lot of it is "Dave Meltzer said this" being spun to fit a certain narrative of going after the people the authors dislike.
- I do think Reynolds had a point about what's being put on TV affecting the other areas of the company.
- Russo also had a point about himself being on the cover of the book implying he killed WCW. There's no picture of AOL Time Warner or anything. That said, I think the audience for the book is more interested in dirt on Nash, Russo, Hogan, and Bischoff than a more balanced story of why WCW went under.
- I didn't see the book as a "whodunnit" at all. If it's meant to be, it's not written particularly well. It's more "a bunch of stuff we hate happened, ratings went down, etc., and oh, yeah, this one guy pulled the plug". That last part's almost an afterthought.
- I definitely think it'd be difficult to do a really good look at the Death of WCW without interviewing any of the top players involved. I don't remember any interviews in the book, actually. It was primarily data from The Observer turned into a lot of editorial.
- That is a pretty terrible picture of Bischoff.
- I do think marketing would have helped, but only to a degree. If the people brought in by the marketing hated the show, they might not watch it again.
Bully Ray took a shot at TNA Management on Twitter. There has reportedly been little or no communication from TNA higher-ups to talents in the past weeks and months. Honestly, there's probably not a lot to communicate. There are no more shows until January, and there's no TV deal in place. It would be nice to shoot a company-wide email or something once a week or so to keep people in the loop, though. I would have figured the bridge was pretty much burned between Team 3D and TNA after what they did at BFG. The fact they could still be working together in 2015 says a lot about what opportunities 3D has with other "big leagues" (WWE, NJPW) and how desperate TNA is to keep anyone with name value.
Adrian Neville beat Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd to retain the NXT Championship at the most recent WWE live event. He was the hometown star and got a pretty big pop. I think he's pretty talented as far as athleticism goes.
Dixie Carter tweeted that a new TV contract for TNA will be announced soon. It's believed they'll either stay on Spike for a lower rate or move to a lower-tier Discovery Network channel. If they do have a TV deal soon, that's a good step. I don't know how much longer they can keep spinning their tires, but that would at least get them somewhere. Having a deal in place may or may not mean the returns of Kurt Angle, Gail Kim, Team 3D, etc. for 2015. They've got an uphill battle no matter what.
WWE Network was down for around two hours last night, possibly due to all the people taking advantage of the free month. It's worked mostly well given how massive of an undertaking it is.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I want to see Rusev and Owens both get big pushes in WWE if they can pull the weight necessary to earn that. I'll have to wait to see how things look in the next few months as Owens gets his feet wet in NXT before endorsing him to that degree.
2. Theoretically Rollins could cash in and try to win via forfeit or something, but I imagine The Authority would be none too pleased if he tried that and could stack the deck against him somehow. Although, if The Authority loses power at Survivor Series, that really changes things. Right now, I think the story is The Authority is allowing Brock to take time off because it's "best for business". If they're not in control, who makes that call? Vince? We'll see.
3. I'm not so sure about that idea, if for no other reason than they should probably advertise Brock before the PPV. He's not the type to shy away from competition, so he wouldn't fear the Rumble winner. It all depends on the followup to it and what else is in mind with the angle.
4. As much as I want him back in the ring sooner rather than later, I can't say I blame Bryan for trying to get better without surgery.
5. Yeah, UFC fighters don't appear as often as WWE superstars with all their live events, etc..
More wrestling tomorrow.
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