Stephanie McMahon was named Multichannel News' TV Wonder Woman Award for being a female executive at the forefront of cable TV. That's great! She's going to be a big part of things in the years to come, so I expect more awards will come her way. Linda won the award in 2007.
Nia Jax talked to the Miami Herald.:
- I think she's had a pretty good start to her career.
- I'm glad she has a degree to fall back on, in case wrestling doesn't work out.
- I think the alliance between Nia and Eva is working OK so far. I think both women benefit from having someone else to complement them.
- It definitely seems like growing up around the business has benefited her.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Regarding rumors of NXT names being called up after Wrestlemania 32, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Enzo Amore, and Colin Cassady are all currently scheduled for April events for NXT. However, that doesn't mean any of those names won't end up on the main roster around that same time. They could easily just finish up some dates in NXT before working WWE live events. Expecting WWE to spoil them being called up that blatantly (by not booking them for NXT shows the week after WM32) isn't giving the company much credit.
Wrestlemania 32 will air live in cinemas in the UAE, Oman, and Lebanon. That's pretty cool! I hope they do that more.
Set for Wednesday's NXT:
- Bayley/Asuka vs. Nia Jax/Eva Marie
- Emma vs. Deonna Purazzo
- Tomasso Ciampa vs. Jessy Sorensen
- American Alpha vs. The Vaudevillains to determine the No. 1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship
- Sami Zayn's Takeover: Dallas match announced.
Shane McMahon continues to train big for Wrestlemania 32. This could be a war.
WWE.com covered a canceled fighting game, WWE Brawl. That sounds like it could have been REALLY cool.
Austin Aries spoke to WWE.com about coming to NXT:
- I can see Aries feeling there was nothing left for him to do in TNA and ROH, having been World Champion in both companies.
- If, someday, WWE does get the TNA library, there will be plenty of good Aries matches added.
- Aries is a really incredible wrestler. He's not just another smaller high-flyer. That's what got him to the top.
- I don't want to over-sell Aries for people who aren't familiar with him, but I think he's a worthy addition to NXT and can probably contribute at a high level there.
Bray Wyatt spoke ahead of Roadblock:
- I hope Mulligan pulls through.
- I enjoyed the Wyatts/ECW feud. It was a nice change of pace.
- I'm surprised the Wyatts don't have anything set for WM32 yet. I was really hoping for Brock/Taker vs. all four members of the Family.
- I think splitting the Wyatts was worth a shot to see what Harper and Bray could do on their own. Rowan didn't fare as well.
- The Wyatts are pretty fitting as the "other" Four Horsemen. I like that vibe from them.
Daniels talked ahead of ROH coming to Philly:
- Daniels has been a really valuable player to both TNA and ROH.
- The Young Bucks being the most popular tag team in the world is laughable. Most of the WWE audience has no idea who they are. The New Day, The Dudleys, and The Usos have got to be more popular than they are.
- The Addiction can be really good heels. They can also get caught up in matches that are more about moves than psychology.
- As great as Daniels is, I do think he'd be too old for WWE to put him in NXT. That's a shame, because he's showing no signs of slowing down.
- I wish he'd teach more psychology, but at least he's telling people not to be too dangerous in the ring.
- No one outside of really hardcore wrestling fans knows about LU. It doesn't even draw 200,000 viewers, so it's not a force on TV at all. Obviously a lot of people talk about it online and its fans are really passionate, but it's just a blip on the radar.
- There's DEFINITELY still a lot of needless flippy bullshit in ROH TV matches. I think some talents have gotten better, but a lot of matches are still indieriffic garbage.
- ROH is a very stunt-heavy show, too...
-- Daniels had another interview. Not much to add, really. I'm glad he's doing good things for ROH, and I hope he doesn't hang up the boots just yet.
WWE and Lucha Underground are interested in new ROH talent Lio Rush, whom I'm assuming hasn't officially signed a contract yet. He's 21 and doesn't even have 100 matches under his belt. It's WAY too early for WWE to think about signing him.
Smackdown's audience Thursday was 2.19 million. That's a big drop from the previous week, and the lowest number in months.
The Rock's social media prowess was covered in Newsweek. He's become a one-man branding icon.
Kane talked about going into his 17th (!) Wrestlemania:
- Kane working a more conservative big man style has definitely helped his longevity.
- I kind of want to see Taker vs. Kane one last time at Wrestlemania for one or the other's retirement. I know they've done it a billion times, but it'd be fitting.
- I do miss some of the more larger-than-life characters. They make the show more interesting.
- I wouldn't assume this is Kane's last Wrestlemania.
- Kane's a really great and humble guy. I do hope he leaves a legacy for those reasons.
Tuesday's episode of Impact Wrestling drew 222,000 for its first airing and 58,000 for its replay. This was a heavily-hyped show featuring three title matches and former WWE and TNA World Champion Kurt Angle's final match for the promotion. To tie for the lowest audience in the show's history is alarming, to say the least. The upcoming set of tapings is going to be pretty important as far as regaining momentum.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They've still got three weeks before the HoF in which to announce something. As far as I know, they will do the Warrior Award again.
2. NXT is WWE's version of an indie show in some aspects, so fans becoming more interested in NXT can lead to them trying actual indie promotions. And with NXT picking up workers from the indies, fans want to see the next batch of potential NXT workers before they do possibly end up there.
I do think some fans have gotten more into the indies because of the popularity of the Young Bucks and the Bullet Club. There's a lot of Bucks/Bullet Club merch being solid to indie fans.
3. The main roster has more chefs in the kitchen, and it's a totally different head chef in Vince. That's pretty much the main thing. It's also worth noting NXT, by its very nature, has to be planned out weeks in advance because they tape so much content at once. The main roster has hours of TV to put together every week. I love NXT and the work of creative there, but it's not as difficult or involved as booking the main roster is.
Nothing to add to 4.
5. That was pretty clever on their part to make the ECW Arena seem a lot bigger than it was.
More wrestling tomorrow.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They've still got three weeks before the HoF in which to announce something. As far as I know, they will do the Warrior Award again.
2. NXT is WWE's version of an indie show in some aspects, so fans becoming more interested in NXT can lead to them trying actual indie promotions. And with NXT picking up workers from the indies, fans want to see the next batch of potential NXT workers before they do possibly end up there.
I do think some fans have gotten more into the indies because of the popularity of the Young Bucks and the Bullet Club. There's a lot of Bucks/Bullet Club merch being solid to indie fans.
3. The main roster has more chefs in the kitchen, and it's a totally different head chef in Vince. That's pretty much the main thing. It's also worth noting NXT, by its very nature, has to be planned out weeks in advance because they tape so much content at once. The main roster has hours of TV to put together every week. I love NXT and the work of creative there, but it's not as difficult or involved as booking the main roster is.
Nothing to add to 4.
5. That was pretty clever on their part to make the ECW Arena seem a lot bigger than it was.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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