Alberto Del Rio was pulled from live events this weekend. While he appeared at Monday's Raw, he was not at Smackdown. He's been battling lower back issues, so this could be related to that. I hope he doesn't miss Wrestlemania.
- Del Rio's issues are injury-related, but not necessarily related to his lower back.
WWE will return to MSG on July 16. That's always a special venue for them.
TNA pulled Ethan Carter III from UK independent promotion Preston City Wrestling's April 3 show, citing network commitments for Pop. Needless to say, PCW Management was none too pleased with this move, as they had been advertising Carter for weeks. As a result, the promotion is considering its future relationship with TNA. TNA Knockout Jade is still set for the show, as is ROH's Cedric Alexander. The last thing TNA needs right now is to lose an ally, especially in the valuable UK market. It would be wise for TNA to see if they can have another talent work the show in Carter's place.
- TNA insists these bookings weren't made through their offices, so there's nothing they can do. the company also pulled James Storm from some bookings for an upcoming, unspecified TNA commitment. I certainly hope that commitment is worth the ill will they got with PCW, and the work/money EC3 and Storm would have gotten from the non-TNA work. For what it's worth, EC3 has promised PCW he will make up his missed UK tours down the line. Good for him. He has no control over this; it's part of his TNA contract.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
AJ Styles discussed his finisher, the possibility of a stable in WWE, and more. The forearm and calf crusher are probably safer finishers. Save the clash for special occasions. As for a Bullet Club reunion, I think I like the idea of Balor, Gallows, and Anderson being heel against AJ. Unless they want to have those four feud with LoN or something.
- Here's another AJ interview, about his early days in wrestling. WWE using him for interviews is a good sign they're behind him.
Christopher Daniels vs. Bobby Fish is official for the April 1 Supercard of Honor event. That could be pretty good.
Wrestlemania 32's economic impact on Dallas and Ft. Worth was profiled. Orlando wants that for WM33 and WM34.
Roman Reigns discussed the crowd reaction to him and more. I think a lot of it comes down to him being "Vince's guy," or "Management's chosen one." There's a part of the fan base that's pretty much going to favor the former indie guys over an ex-football player, no matter what. As for his remarks on genetics vs. work ethic, I definitely think genetics play a larger role than he'd give credit for. Someone like Ambrose has to work a lot harder to be seen as believable against larger adversaries due to his size. He can only "bulk up" so much.
Jacqueline chose The Dudley Boyz as her HoF inductors due to their long friendship. Is there a Dudleyville in Texas?
The Undertaker was at the WWEPC recently preparing for his in-ring return at WM32. I'm pretty sure they don't have a Hell in a Cell structure there, but he was likely just working some rust off.
There will likely be a third match on the WM32 Kickoff show. That's good. Two hours of just WM32 hype wouldn't be as intriguing as seeing some in-ring action. Could the big Divas tag end up on that part of the show?
Brie Bella's contract is set to expire in June, so her retiring isn't changing much. Even without a contract, she's expected to remain an ambassador and "Total Divas" castmember. If Nikki returns to the ring, I think we could see Brie show up for a cameo here and there. I definitely think she intends to be done with her in-ring career, though.
At an NXT live event in Florida:
- Tough Enough's ZZ beat Chris Girard.
- Mandy Rose worked in a loss against Bayley.
- Alexa Bliss wasn't present alongside Blake and Murphy. Interesting.
- Patrick Clark teamed with Kenneth Crawford in a loss to The Reviival.
- Dana Brooke was part of the meet-and-greet before the show, but didn't wrestle.
On a main roster live event this weekend, the Hype Bros beat the Ascension. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mojo paired with Zack on the main shows soon, particularly if WWE splits the tag team division into two brands. I personally think more time in NXT would benefit him, but he's certainly able to get a crowd hype as is.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Nothing to add other than I also hope he and Bray have bright futures in WWE.
1. Nothing to add other than I also hope he and Bray have bright futures in WWE.
2. I definitely think WWE will give both of them a good look, like Styles, Joe, and Aries before them. Talents with that much TV experience and name recognition don't come around that often.
3. At this point, he's expected to just be a performer. He might only be back for Mania season; time will tell.
4. I think it says Ambrose is one crazy hardcore S.O.B. who's going to bring everything he can to try to stop the seemingly invincible Lesnar.
5. It's kind of like how Disney doesn't have the movie rights to the X-Men franchise because of an existing distribution deal. Whether WWE seeks out that content will depend on whether they think it's worth it, financially.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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