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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

What happened after Raw, more on Professor passing, more on WWEPC shooting, Hogan situation update, Raw guests, WM34 host city speculation, ex-ECW name vs. ROH Champ, more on Bram, Interviews with Hall/Owens/Ziggler, another big ROH match booked, Snuka charged for 1983 homicide, internal changes for TNA, WWE-MSG card change, and Questions on the Divas revolution, Braun Strowman, and more Taker vs. Lesnar

Following Raw, Randy Orton and John Cena defeated Seth Rollins and Sheamus. Orton vs. Sheamus for the briefcase at NOC would make sense after they've traded wins.

"Professor" Elliot Maron was profiled. It's always cool to look back at those days.

WWE personalities have been told not to comment on the shooting near the WWE Performance Center, deferring to the local authorities. I think that's a good move. The suspect is clearly disturbed, and should be whisked out of the limelight as soon as possible. Honestly, a case could be made for him to be institutionalized and treated. It's not like he's going to wake up one day and be a functioning member of society; he needs to be seen medically.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.

Residents of Hulk Hogan's hometown disputed his portrayal of them. This is moving further from being wrestling-related, but this story was important to provide a fair counter-narrative to Hogan's.

Ric Flair, Christian, Cherry, Tough Enough's Amanda, and a number of NXT employees were backstage at Raw. I haven't really heard anything about Cherry in forever.

Philadelphia has made a bid to host WrestleMania 34 and its associated shows. Go ahead and start the speculation of an ECW-themed HoF. I wonder how much "extreme" gas will still be in the tank in 2018.

Stevie Richards challenging Jay Lethal in a non-title match has been booked for later this month. That one sounds worth checking out, but it's just for a live event.

Bram was released from jail after posting bail. A formal hearing still awaits. It's possible we've seen the last of him in TNA, depending on how the case goes. He was a significant part of storylines, although I don't know what they had planned for him at BFG.

Jim Ross did two columns on Scott Hall. I hope ten years from now he's still celebrating being sober.

Kevin Owens talked about his journey to WWE and more. I'm ready to see him go back to putting people on the shelf. I think in some ways debuting so high up hurt him because you almost have to go down after facing Cena three times.

ROH has booked The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes for September 25. That one will impress the ROH true believers.

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka has been arrested in connection with homicide charges stemming from the 1983 death of his then-girlfriend. I'm surprised they ended up getting a conviction three decades later. I'm not familiar enough with the ins and outs of the case. I just hope everything's settled. Snuka is a Hall of Famer and a legend battling stomach cancer, but the law's the law.

Update: WWE more or less deferred to the legal system here, which was the right move. I expect them to distance themselves the same way they have with Hogan, although of course this is more severe.

Update: Snuka was released to continue recovering from a recent surgery related to the stomach cancer. He voluntarily turned himself in to authorities. A preliminary hearing is set for later this month. It will be interesting to see what they do in sentencing the ailing and aging Hall of Famer.

TNA is being restructured so that their payroll and legal departments are now in-house, instead of going through Panda Energy. This hopefully means a quicker turnaround for contracts and pay. Panda Energy remains in ownership of the company; the company is just more independent going forward. We'll see if that improves TNA's fortunes.

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens is set for WWE's MSG special. Jericho is replacing Cesaro. I wonder where that leaves the former U.S. Champion.

Dolph Ziggler talked about Lana, Tyler Breeze, and more. Ziggler working with Breeze just seems natural given their looks, styles, and characters.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think it's mainly them not getting the time they got in NXT, where they were some of the most important people in the promotion. The revolution isn't going to change things overnight, and there;s still those who push the "Total Divas" style of things, but I think things have improved.

2. Because Braun is fucking HUGE. Rowan's been watered down at this point from being beaten so much and turning face. Braun's much easier to take seriously as a heel at this point.

3. This is kind of misleading. On the main roster, there are a lot of people who already have a "spot" higher up on the pack. Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky are competing for a smaller slice of pie than the Divas had in NXT.

4. I think it would be an awful idea. It took more than a year to get Taker/Lesnar 2. It should be at least Survivor Series before they collide again. Honestly, that's a WM-level draw. I don't see them blowing it like that.

5. I love how this turned into another excuse to bash Cena. Will the Wyatts dominate WWE like they used to? Probably not. But I think they can definitely do big things with Braun (as they should). I wouldn't be shocked to see him wreck Ryback for the IC Title.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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