ROH will have something of a crossover event with a UK promotion in November. I wonder what the pay is for ROH vs. TNA, considering the former has more regular bookings these days. It could get pretty competitive between TNA, ROH, and GFW as far as talent goes, although TNA and GFW are more or less working together now.
Here are results from the most recent NXT live event:
- I imagine some Tough Enough people could end up in NXT when that show's over.
- With Owens moving up and Zayn and Itami out, I hope we see Uhaa step up soon. How about in Brooklyn?
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
TNA is seeking a senior manager
of digital content and engagement, which is a pretty long job title. In
other words, it looks like they're going to put more focus on the
online side of things. If doing stuff online makes them money and keeps
them relevant, I have no problems with it. I wouldn't read this as
"we're moving Impact online when we're canceled in a few months." It's
more like they're expanding their online presence.
Matt Striker talked about working with JR and more:
- I think there are politics in pretty much any workplace, sadly.
- I really enjoyed most of Matt's time in WWE. Working with Angle has "made" a lot of people, and that continues in 2015.
- I think the ECW brand could have been more successful if they didn't have the weight of trying to live up to the original. The original ECW has been built up to mythic proportions (much like the Attitude Era), and there was no way it could have met those expectations.
- The name of the move isn't as important as the story of why it's being used. It can be important, but most viewers don't care who invented the move and its technical name and all that.
- Jacob Novak was super bland. He needed more work.
- I agree about less being more. It's a delicate balance.
- A lot of fans DON'T know who those NJPW names are, so it was good to explain that to the new viewers.
Big Show addressed the recent lawsuits against WWE. It's hard to disagree with Jerry McDevitt's take on this. There's a reason some lawyers are referred to as ambulance chasers.
WWE has dropped a live event from the night before Summerslam. It makes sense to not run that against their own NXT event. In fact, hopefully it gets the fans from that event to go to Takeover.
Set for ROH Death Before Dishonor on July 24:
- ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal vs. Roderick Strong
- ROH Tag Team Championship: The Addiction vs. War Machine vs. reDRagon vs. The Kingdom
- Adam Cole vs. Dalton Castle
- Cedric Alexander vs. Moose
- No Disqualifications: ACH vs. Adam Page
The build for this has been pretty much shit. I don't know if Sinclair has some kind of mandate to where TV takes precedence over PPV or what, but Dalton Castle should be facing Silas Young based on what's on TV. I hate them just announcing random matches instead of issues leading to matches (as in Alexander vs. Moose). It would also make sense to have The Kingdom win a match to qualify for the title match after losing at the last PPV. reDRagon were screwed by interference and War Machine beat C&C Wrestling Factory, so them being involved makes sense.
A documentary about Virgil and his merchandise table is being made. I actually feel pretty sorry for the guy.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Because WWE isn't "wrestling," it's sports entertainment. They want a well-lit, grand production. They see themselves like Disney more than, say, UFC or an indie fed. I don't see that changing as long as Vince and Dunn are there, and I wouldn't assume it will change when HHH and Stephanie take over. As for people tuning in to see a fight, I think that's only partially true. The fight has to have some meaning to it to really reach an audience. Having Cesaro and Luke Harper face off for no other reason than "it will be a good match" only appeals to some of us. Having Kevin Owens attack and insult Cena for weeks before stepping into the ring with him, and looking like a legitimate threat to the former WrestleMania headliner, made that match a lot more must-see. Characters and storylines are a key ingredient.
All that said, I did really like the different feel for BitE, especially where commentary was concerned.
2. Not much to add here. TNA has a bigger reach than ROH or LU or GFW or whatever other promotion people want to take its place. It also has two hours of TV a week to showcase talents. IF we knew all the good wrestlers from TNA would get the same (if not better) opportunities elsewhere and we could still see them do what they do best on a big scale, I might agree. But there are reasons a lot of them went to TNA instead of trying to make a living on the indies or staying in the WWE fold. I'd rather see TNA return to what it was pre-Hogan/Bischoff than disappear. And I'd DEFINITELY rather see most of them work TNA than ROH.
For anyone reading who isn't familiar with what happened after WCW and ECW folded, it's not like WWF scooped them all up. Some of that's tied into how WCW's contracts were structured (people were still getting paid by WCW's parent company even after WWF had bought WCW), but some of that's because of what's basically supply and demand. WWF was the only big option left in the U.S., so it was either accept what they offered (if anything) or try to work the indies/other countries. For some TNA names, getting a tryout for NXT might be about the most realistic thing they can hope for from WWE.
3. If you came from a highly-educated university like Scott Steiner, you'd know the numbers don't lie.
4. Last year's cuts were because of the big startup costs from the Network and it not getting as many subscribers as they'd hoped. They're doing much better financially now and didn't need to trim expenses. And as was said, they want to avoid the bad publicity and negative feelings that come from "spring cleanings" so they're just letting contracts expire.
Nothing to really add to 5.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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