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Saturday, August 8, 2015

Superstars Reax - 8/7/15, TNA+ROH audiences, updated Summerslam card, Charlotte profiled, NXT to UK?, TE updates, new Field of Honor match, Diva group name change, Smackdown audience, Takeover attendance update, more on Lynn, NXT live event notes including new ring names, Questions on fewer commercials, setting up live events, the next NXT Women's Champion, WWE hitting the same towns, and Tough Enough

Superstars:
- Fandango vs. Slater:
I think these two are underrated as wrestlers. We really only get to see what they can do on Superstars and Main Event.

Not a bad ending at all. I like both men.

- Dallas vs. Swagger:
Fine stuff so far. I like how these two are meshing, with Swagger focusing on the leg for the ankle lock and Bo... well, being Bo.

Really good ending sequence. They worked together pretty well.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

Impact Wrestling got 327,000 viewers in its first timeslot and 42,000 in the replay. That's the lowest replay number since moving to Wednesdays.

Ring of Honor drew 151,000 in its sole airing on DA. I don't know what kind of numbers the channel's looking for from TNA and ROH, but neither show is really having stellar performances. It's entirely possible both of them are off national TV at the end of 2015.

Currently set for WWE Summerslam:
- Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker
- Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Ryback vs. Big Show vs. The Miz
- (Seth Rollins has challenged John Cena to a Title vs. Title match for the WWE and United States Championship, but this isn't officially on the website)

The card's still a little lacking for what's supposed to be the WrestleMania of the summer. Brock vs. Taker is a really big deal, and Rollins vs. Cena will almost certainly deliver, but overall it doesn't feel as special as it should.

Charlotte was the subject of an article by Playboy.com, which I won't link to here. I guess that's one side effect of getting more mainstream success.

WWE is looking at some UK dates for NXT, presumably for the next time the main roster is in the area. The brand continues to impress with its growth.

John Cena will be on the next episode of Tough Enough. The cast also filmed some material in Universal Studios. So, they're not totally abandoning the show in its final episodes. I wonder if any of the Tough Enough cast will end up wrestling at Universal Studios for TNA.

Michael Elgin vs. Hirooki Goto is set for Field of Honor. I'm already pretty bored with ROH. I'm definitely more interested in Takeover.

The team of Paige, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch has been quietly renamed PCB after the controversy over the previous moniker. I liked the name Submission Sorority, but they definitely don't want to be linked to adult websites, even unintentionally.

Smackdown's audience this week was 2.41 million. The show's in something of a slump right now.

The Undertaker is advertised for the final Raw before Summerslam. I'm looking forward to seeing him face Brock again.

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is nearly sold out. That's INSANE for a brand that isn't on TV. Talk about buzz.

Jerry Lynn has returned home from the hospital. I believe he's got another procedure scheduled soon, so he's not out of the woods just yet.

Here are results from the most recent NXT live event, including some important notes:
- Breeze having a bodyguard is an interesting wrinkle to his character. I think that could work well for him. He's close to being ready for the main roster. He just needs something to put him over the top. I think they could pair him with someone who's not doing much on the main roster and he'd be fine. That said, it wouldn't hurt for him to spend more time in NXT. WWE has brought up a good number of NXT names recently, so there's no rush to bring him up to something of a crowded roster.

- It does sound like quite the card.

- Wrestlers getting new ring names could mean we'll see them on NXT TV soon. They'll definitely need to get started on rebuilding the Divas division at the next tapings.

- I haven't seen enough of LeFort in the ring to know if he should just be a manager going forward, but he's been used in that role quite a bit.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I wonder how successful that was for them financially. I know there's talk of them having a reduced budget if they come back for Season 2. Any TV show's goal on a for-profit channel is for you to stay and watch the commercials. Putting them during the match, especially the main event, makes it more likely someone will pay attention to what the people who paid for ad space want them to see. One of the reasons TNA's in jeopardy of getting dropped from DA is because of problems getting advertising. So, no, I don't see any of the promotions changing the formula to emulate a show that might not be coming back.

2. They definitely plan ahead! That's part of why they generally do pretty well. It helps that they have a lot of relationships with certain buildings already in place.

3. Bayley in Brooklyn. It's the obvious move in some ways but I think it's the right one. Emma and Dana Brooke make sense as her first challengers, then she can work with some of the new Divas making their way through the ranks (yes, even Eva Marie). Hopefully some of the names we haven't seen much of on the NXT show yet will step up and fill the gaps left by the callups. It won't happen overnight, but neither did the rise of Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha.

4. That, and inertia: they have good relationships with the buildings already, and they can hit pretty much the same towns for TV and live event loops because they've been there and done that.

5. It took four years to get it back after a good season. Unless they want to bring it back for the WWE Network, I think this will be the last we see of Tough Enough for the foreseeable future.

Nothing to add to 6.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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