Alex Riley successfully underwent knee surgery. I hope we haven't seen the last of him in the ring.
Set for next week's NXT:
- Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn facing off
- Bayley vs. Jessie McKay
- Baron Corbin vs. Solomon Crowe
- Sasha Banks vs. KC Cassidy
- Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella
- Tyler Breeze and Adam Rose vs. Finn Balor and Hideo Itami
I'm interested in what they do with Crowe going forward. He's been really stuck. It looks like we'll also see two new NXT Divas debut. I expect they'll be squashed, but it's cool we'll see them.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Chris Jericho talked about a number of topics:
- WWE did King of the Ring annually for quite a while after WM4, so I don't know if that's it.
- I had heard the Tom Green story recently.
- Having something new for Tough Enough should be fun.
Stone Cold talked about returning for WM32 and more:
- Rock's segment at WM31 was WAAAAAAYYYY too long.
- I'm glad Austin and his dad had a good meeting. I hope they reconcile some day.
- The story I've heard is Stone Cold was going to face Brock Lesnar a few months into Brock's first WWE run. The match was going to be a qualifying match for King of the Ring 2002, which I'm thinking Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit would have cost Austin to set up Austin's match at an upcoming PPV. I do think it was way too early to do that match. That could have happened at WM19 or 20, but not in a relatively meaningless Raw match.
- Austin's a really smart guy as far as ring psychology goes. I agree with his assessments on Cena and Bryan.
Joey Styles pitched going to ESPN when Bill Simmons leaves in a few months. That's interesting! I wonder what WWE thinks of that.
Dean Ambrose talked about his training and more. I hope he makes the most of his WWE Championship match.
Adam Rose talked about the recent E:60 documentary:
- He's got one hell of a story.
- I also had doubts about him before the Rose character clicked.
- The Rose character seemed to come totally out of nowhere. He's lucky he had the right combination of people helping him out and inspirations to make it work.
- He definitely seemed pretty frayed before the Rose character. He had been in developmental for years when others were moving on to the main roster. It had to weigh on him.
Xavier Woods talked about The New Day and more:
- It's really good they didn't do a racially-charged gimmick given what's happened in the U.S. lately.
- I do wish a positive portrayal of three successful black people would have done better, but I guess it was too saccharine.
- I do think a lot of people want to see more characters with flaws in 2015. I can't really blame them.
Jim Ross talked about potentially working with GFW and more:
- Ross "gets it" as far as why Zayn was booked the way he was. Zayn got a BIG opportunity. Not a lot of people can say they faced one of the top stars of the company in a title match in their hometown on their first night while being introduced by a wrestling legend. That's huge.
- I also wish KOTR had gotten more build and felt like more of a big deal. Maybe it should have been saved for the next week and been built following the PPV?
- I think he's dead-on about commentary. It's become too much about the people in the booth arguing or getting themselves over.
- I think the GFW concept sounds interesting. It's worth trying out. I definitely like them just having an hour a week, given how new they are. Two hours a week is a lot of time to fill.
Smackdown's audience Thursday was 2.58 million, in-line with where it was before last week's drop.
Martha Hart commented on WWE's upcoming DVD on her late husband. At least she's not threatening to sue WWE for marketing footage and appearances they own. I feel for her, but I can't blame WWE for making a DVD on Owen. It's been 16 years now.
TNA had been thinking of ways to bring Bully Ray back since the move to Destination America. I think saving him for the big live show was a smart move. I think the return of the veteran former champion gives the company a boost in credibility.
Lashley is also expected to be back in TNA soon. I'm much more excited to see him.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. As much as I liked the nostalgia and the match in general (including the handshake), I do agree it felt out of nowhere. Sting specifically referenced fighting the nWo in WCW and how it wasn't about WCW vs. WWE. Sting would have made a great GM character to put an end to The Authority, and of course a lot of people wanted to see Sting vs. Undertaker. It was a baffling potential end to Sting's career.
Nothing to add to 2. I'm glad LU has a passionate fanbase given how the channel doesn't have a very deep reach.
3. WWF on February 5, 1999, in Greensboro, NC. Yes, I had to look that up.
4. I also don't have a clue. It's an interesting "what if," though!
5. I wish him the best.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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