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Friday, July 10, 2015

Interviews with Aldis/Titus, Tough Enough notes, Cameron update, former Diva retires, GFW's show named, upcoming ROH match, Strong to miss ROH date, Takeover main event set, more NXT action figures, Zayn update, TNA vs. ROH Week 6, and Questions on a Network special from London, HHH vs. Chyna, Rock vs. Sting, and Heyman staying with Brock

The former Magnus talked about moving from TNA to GFW and more. I think that's a pretty notable jump.

- I personally think he could have been TNA Champion again if he stayed the course, but I can't blame him for trying out new things.

- I agree it's en vogue to bash "lolTNA" as idiots. They're definitely not blameless, but it's unreal how much hate they get.

- Interesting talk about the TNA locker room.

- I wonder if Bram will end up in GFW if he's ever not under multi-year contract with TNA.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

King Barrett will be on the next episode of Tough Enough. He's already been more successful than any Tough Enough winner bar John Morrison.

Cameron won't be on Total Divas as much this season, but is working with Creative on improving her character. I think pairing her back with Naomi (and Tamina) would have been good.

Former WWE Diva Serena has retired. She might have worked a match recently that hasn't aired yet but will soon. Wink, wink. It's a shame we never saw much of her as a wrestler in WWE.

Titus O'Neil talked before a live event. I'm glad he and Darren have both found success rather than being pitted against each other. They complement each other well. It's weird I don't remember thinking of them as a team in the NXT: Redemption days given how I felt each man's weaknesses were the other's strengths. It's obvious in hindsight. Anyway, he's right about being entertaining like NAO and Rock 'n' Sock being probably more important than ring work. I think that's a lot of why some acts stick around and get bigger roles than people who are mainly known for their wrestling abilities.

GFW announced the title of their TV(?) show. That name's very 2003. There had to have been something better to play off their brand name. Amps aren't even a measure of force! At least it's not the Jeff and Karen Jarrett Wrestling Hour, I guess.

ROH announced Jay Lethal vs. Hanson for the TV Championship will take place at their next set of TV tapings, which more or less spoils the TV Title match that hasn't aired yet. If TNA did that, fans would be ALL OVER it. So, lolROH. That aside, I'm enjoying Lethal's ROH work and am looking forward to seeing him grow as a performer.

Roderick Strong had to pull out of ROH's July 17 show. He will be replaced in the ring with Austin Aries. That's a pretty fitting replacement. I hope Strong signs a new contract soon for ROH's sake, unless of course he's going to GFW or NXT or something.

Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens in a rematch for the NXT Championship will headline the next Takeover special on the weekend of Summerslam. I'm looking forward to it! That will presumably be Owens' final appearance in NXT. What this means as far as his U.S. Title aspirations will be interesting to see. I half-expect a big gimmick match for the title between Owens and Cena at Summerslam to blow off the feud. Having Owens as U.S. Champion vs. the NXT Champion should sell more tickets to Takeover. I say they should go for it.

The line of NXT as "developmental" continues to blur as Mattel has announced action figures for Finn Balor, Bayley, Charlotte, Hideo Itami, Sami Zayn, and Sasha Banks. Of course, I think some, if not all, of those names will cease to be NXT names by the end of 2016.

Sami Zayn no longer needs his sling. He's aiming to return in late 2015/early 2016. Kevin Owens better watch out in next year's Royal Rumble. If WWE develops enough guys to be top talents for NXT, I don't see why they couldn't have Zayn debut as a main roster guy at the Rumble and use Balor on the post-Mania Raw. That's months from now, though. We could also see Joe, Breeze, and/or Itami in the mix as potential callups then. Exciting times!

Impact Wrestling got 353,000 viewers in their first airing, and an additional 100,000 the next week. That's the best combined audience since moving to Wednesdays. I hope that news is impressing DA executives.

ROH drew 128,000 viewers in their first airing on DA, with another 134,000 in their replay. That's actually more than a 20% drop from two weeks ago, and the second-lowest mark since their DA debut. This was roughly 58% of TNA's audience, down from where they're usually at (about 75%). That's worth noting even in the small "sample size" of how they've done so far.

The remaining Tough Enough competitors will be at this weekend's NXT live events and Monday's Raw, which is more than some of the people signed to NXT can say.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I wouldn't be shocked if that happens the next time there's a tour in Europe. It might be something more like BitE than Summerslam, but that should still count for something.

Nothing to add to 2.

3. I do believe it in some ways perpetuates the stories Chyna tells to keep responding to them, but I can see why HHH wants to be proactive in denying them. While obviously a lot of people don't take her seriously, when her accusations get attention outside the wrestling bubble, it can have bigger effects. HHH could probably sue for libel or defamation, but he'd have to prove the accusations actually hurt his career. Given his current position in WWE, that's hardly true.

4. I think we're more likely to see Rock involved with HHH or Lesnar. MAYBE we get Sting vs. Taker, but that's less of a sure thing after WM31 more or less squashed Sting's momentum.

5. Definitely. They're too perfect together to split.

More wrestling tomorrow. 

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