There was no dark match at the Raw taping, which makes sense given what Kane did to the ring at the end of the show. How are they going to explain Rollins' future appearances? Did Kane let him escape from the flames? Is he still down there!?
Update: Rollins made it out in a video posted after Raw.
Sting was not at Raw. He flew home following NOC. I hope he's OK. That was a scary situation.
WWE's show in MSG will feature Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show, Seth Rollins vs. John Cena, New Day vs. Dudley Boyz, Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho, and Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler. So some of those matches will feel even less fresh after the event. That's the problem with having to do so much content for the Network.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Biff Busick and Rich Swann are now officially done with EVOLVE, as both have signed on for NXT. I hope WWE continues to sign impressive talents, although the bigger problem is how to use them on the main roster. If WWE keeps going back to the well with guys like Kane, the Dudleys, Sting, etc., the younger generation's opportunities are stifled.
Tensai/Jason Albert/whatever his name is in kayfabe now talked about being the new head trainer at NXT. I'm glad they changed things there.
Arnold Schwarzenegger talked about some WWE topics. I love WWE including The Terminator in the next game. I wish they had something more like Marvel vs. Capcom. Just go crazy with it. Immortals was a good start.
Daniel Bryan gave the latest update about not being cleared by WWE. At this point, I wouldn't blame him for choking someone with a tie to get fired again.
Justin Credible announced plans to retire as a full-time wrestler in November. He's done a lot of great things for the business, in and out of the ring. I highly recommend his Pro Wrestling 101 videos. HIGHLY recommend.
The fan who jumped the rail at Night of Champions was sentenced to 10 days in jail in a plea deal. I'll admit it was pretty well-timed, but WWE has to take a tough stance to protect its performers.
Raw dropped this week to 3.35 million viewers, the lowest non-Christmas episode of the show since the three-hour era began. WWE needs to move away from the same-old, same-old, and FAST.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. There's no reason for him to get heat. Management made the call on bringing him up so soon. And honestly, he's just there to be a mastadon, not work five-star matches or be a top singles star. There are plenty of people who are experienced indie wrestlers, aerial guys, technical guys, etc.. Few down there are "immovable objects," so he got the call to fill that role.
2. PTP did get a title shot before the Dudleys on the Raw before NOC, but I see what you mean. WWE wants to get the most out of the nostalgia train that they can, so they're putting the Attitude Era guys in big matches quickly. It's why Sting's first WWE match was at WrestleMania (although Sting only has a few matches in him, while the Dudleys are back full-time).
3. TNA would absolutely be different now. He had plans to really invest in younger talents, including Daniel Bryan post-Nexus firing, and I'm assuming a lot of talent that was coming up through EVOLVE (a number of whom ended up in WWE). Who knows? We could have been seeing people like Kevin Owens go there instead of WWE. He also planned on taking the company public like WWE is. I think he could have been successful. TNA would have at least spent a lot less money chasing nostalgia pops. But Heyman can be strong-minded, and could have clashed with other TNA execs like he did in WWE.
4. WWE definitely wants to monetize their shows as much as possible. Unless syndication meant more revenue than the Network/Hulu+/etc. route, it wouldn't happen.
5. I think the heat was more about erasing AJ from the history books and her being more of a Diva than a women's wrestler and that kind of thing. A lack of title defenses just made that heat hotter.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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