Daniel Bryan will also appear at a WWE live event in New Jersey this weekend. I assume he'll just be a guest host or something to set up someone else's angle.
Here's a brief story on a recent WWE live event, noting the increased security. It's a shame such measures are necessary.
James Laurinaitis signed with the New Orleans Saints, so he won't be headed to WWE anytime soon. He might never become a wrestler, but he's definitely got the right connections if he wants to try it.
WWE has launched a charity auction to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of America. Philanthropy is a big focus for Stephanie McMahon in particular, so I expect to see more of this in the years to come.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz is official for Wrestlemania 32. That feels a little lacking for Mania, honestly. Either make it a six-man with Rikishi and Rhyno or add a table-related scenario. No knock on the talents involved now; it's just doesn't feel like a big Wrestlemania match.
Some more details about the TNA departures of Eric Young and Bobby Roode:
- The departures weren't directly related to each other, as in they didn't intentionally leave together. Things just worked out that way.
- Roode's most recent deal ended in February. That contract saw him as one of the most highly-paid performers in TNA, and TNA was no longer at a place to pay him at that level.
-- Roode had also been upset with late pay in recent months. The company did eventually catch him up on what he was owed.
-- Roode had agreed to a new deal, but had a change of heart. So, the two sides negotiated a release at the conclusion of this past week's tapings. He is now free of TNA commitments and is taking independent dates.
- Young also recently signed a new contract, but was said to be upset at what he had been offered for that deal after 12 years in the company.
-- Young wanted to look into working elsewhere, so he also negotiated a release in order to finish up at last week's taping. Young's free to work elsewhere, and currently taking independent bookings.
- There's potential for either or both men to work future tapings on a per-date basis if they don't get signed somewhere else on a permanent deal.
- TNA is still moving forward and signing more talents. They're not going out of business or anything like that. They're still very much afloat and looking for investors in order to grow the company.
- Roode vs. Young is set for the May 7 House of Hardcore event.
ROH has sold out their Supercard of Honor shows on April 1 and 2. That's good news for them. There are definitely plenty of wrestling fans in Dallas that weekend.
TNA has officially signed a number of new talents. Announcements will presumably be forthcoming in the days and weeks to come.
- It's expected one of those signings is Laura Dennis, a.k.a. Cherry Bomb. She's made a number of appearances for TNA in the past, including the recent One Night Only Knockouts PPV. I think she's worth giving a shot to, based on her appearances thus far.
Impact Wrestling is taped through April 26, so TNA will have another set of TV tapings around that time. Those tapings would presumably set up Slammiversary on PPV.
TNA is looking to tour India this summer. It will be interesting to see the importance of that market going forward.
Fifth Harmony will perform "America the Beautiful" at Wrestlemania 32. As always, the show's about more than the in-ring product. It's not Final Battle...
WWE has announced a Smackdown taping on September 13 in Philadelphia. I wonder who will be on the roster at that show if they go through with the brand split.
Kevin Owens will defend the Intercontinental Championship in a ladder match at Wrestlemania 32 against Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Stardust, Sin Cara, and Zack Ryder. So, it's possible we see both Lucha Dragons with gold after the show.
If The Undertaker doesn't beat Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania 32, Vince McMahon has announced it will be Taker's final Wrestlemania. I would imagine if Shane wins, he can just reinstate Taker as a Raw superstar. Pretty big tease.
After Raw went off the air, Reigns/Ambrose/Ziggler/Zayn beat the four Wyatts. Luke Harper screamed out in pain and was attended to by WWE medical personnel. He was assisted to the back by Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Harper's a great, talented performer. I hope he doesn't muss much time.
A fan attacked Braun Strowman during the Raw dark match, punching him in the face. The fan was escorted out of the building by WWE security, and hopefully charged for assault, if not banned from future shows outright. That's unacceptable.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Raw and Smackdown need to feel like separate shows with separate talents instead of just 5 hours of Raw or what have you. If Raw's DC, Smackdown needs to be Marvel. I think I'd be fine with one show having the IC Title and one having the U.S. Title and that kind of thing. Another big rule is trading. If a talent and Creative just can't make magic on one show, move them to the other show to give them a fresh start. Say "their Raw contract expired" or whatever to justify it. And, hey, shuffling talent in and out of NXT is good, too, for the same reason of keeping things fresh. Using Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow, etc. down there for a couple months to give them something new would be beneficial for everyone involved. As for "focusing on the in-ring product," I think that's only going to do so much. Character development requires promos, videos, etc. and both shows need that. For an example of what not to do, see how Tyler Breeze was brought up. He should have gotten video packages and promos before just showing up.
1. Raw and Smackdown need to feel like separate shows with separate talents instead of just 5 hours of Raw or what have you. If Raw's DC, Smackdown needs to be Marvel. I think I'd be fine with one show having the IC Title and one having the U.S. Title and that kind of thing. Another big rule is trading. If a talent and Creative just can't make magic on one show, move them to the other show to give them a fresh start. Say "their Raw contract expired" or whatever to justify it. And, hey, shuffling talent in and out of NXT is good, too, for the same reason of keeping things fresh. Using Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow, etc. down there for a couple months to give them something new would be beneficial for everyone involved. As for "focusing on the in-ring product," I think that's only going to do so much. Character development requires promos, videos, etc. and both shows need that. For an example of what not to do, see how Tyler Breeze was brought up. He should have gotten video packages and promos before just showing up.
2. I think the IC Title ladder match would be a good place for him. I really like Cesaro, but that scenario's silly.
3. Speaking of silly scenarios... another "smark" conspiracy theory. Taker needed to show he could rebound after the big loss at WM30 left him broken and collapsing backstage. Bray "brought him back from the dead" or whatever. Taker needed a big win to look like a threat to Lesnar after WM31. Of course, Dave complains about how they book Bray no matter what, so putting him against Taker didn't fix that. As for HHH, they set that up at Survivor Series. Sting goes against corrupt authority figures. That match proved he was game in a WWE ring instead of coming in unknown to a lot of the audience to face Taker. It took DX AND a sledgehammer to beat him. They were trying to set up HHH/Stephanie vs. Rock/Ronda, and the win helped that since we didn't know if we'd see Sting wrestle again. Even ignoring all that (like Dave did), the show was outdoors on the West Coast. They couldn't do all the fun smoke and mirrors we all wanted from that clash because it was still light out. So, the scenario wouldn't have lived up to what people wanted. They needed bells and whistles to make it what the fans wanted. I do wish we would have seen Flair run in to try to stop Sting from winning, and Kane trying to screw Taker. That would have been pretty fun.
4. Definitely too early to say. It's in Florida, so Rock in either of those matches could be interesting. They could also try Taker vs. Cena again. As always, I'm curious how many more Manias Taker has.
5. I hope we see that at Summerslam. Or a Fatal 4 Way with Brock after doing the triple threat before then? I definitely think it's a good idea, although of course people will complain if Reigns goes over.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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