Paul Bearer's son alleges the WWE Hall of Fame ring featured (but not purchased) on "Pawn Stars" was not actually the one given to the family by WWE. So, now both Sunny and Bearer's family have heat with the show for misrepresentation. It will be interesting to see what comes out of all this.
Finn Balor now has "Balor Club" merchandize using the slogan Bulletproof. The war between WWE and Bullet Club has been one of the most interesting things to follow lately. Bullet Club Elite recently released a shirt parodying New Day, so shots continue to be fired. I think this works well for both sides, like the DX/nWo war in the '90s. Will we see Styles, Balor, Anderson, and Gallows as an important faction in WWE this summer? The latter two haven't been officially announced as signed yet, but it's not a stretch to think we'll see them paired with AJ, Finn, or both once they are. Finn could lose the NXT Title in June at a Takeover special, be called up to form the Club for the July tour of Japan, and finish up at NXT the night before Summerslam.
NXT will be running live events this week in the area of The Arnold Classic. It's unknown whether there will be a special edition of NXT TV featuring action from those shows as there was last year.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
TNA has declared March 1 through March 8 "Kurt Angle Week," promoting his final two matches with the company airing on Impact Wrestling. They'll be going all out with Angle content on their website and social media. Hopefully this push gives them higher audiences for the next two weeks. I can only imagine what things will look like for them with Kurt gone; he's been one of their most important players for nearly a decade. That's only been more true following their big departures.
The Fabulous Freebirds have been announced for the WWE Hall of Fame. Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Terry Gordy, and Jimmy Garvin are the members who will be inducted by Kevin Von Erich. Former members during the WCW years, Badstreet, Oliver Humperdink, and Rocky King are not being included. This is a little like the situation with the Horsemen going in; a choice had to be made of whom to include.
- Michael Hayes commented on the induction. Dallas is the perfect place for it.
Shane McMahon continues his training ahead of WM32. This could be a trainwreck, but it'll be a fun one. I don't doubt Shane will give it his all.
NXT is headed to Rhode Island on April 22.
WWE.com talked about the opportunity of Kimbo Slice coming in years back:
- That could have been AMAZING.
- I do think there would have been a transition process to get him to be a wrestler. It might have been worth it if Kimbo was interested in paying his dues and adapting to WWE, though.
- Brock vs. Kimbo or Angle vs. Kimbo could have been pretty enjoyable. Benoit vs. Kimbo?
WWE has hit 10 million YouTube subscribers. That's really impressive. I imagine stockholders are pleased about that.
King/Bad News Barrett has been cleared to return to the ring. I'm interested to see if we do end up with New Day vs. League of Booty at WM32.
Eva Marie did a Q&A on YouTube. Didn't listen, lol. I'm glad she's been relegated to NXT to improve her game.
TNA's lawsuit against Scott Steiner was dismissed with prejudice, meaning TNA can't file the lawsuit again down the line or re-open the civil case. HEH? THE GENETIC FREAK HAD A 141 2/3 CHANCE OF WINNIN', WHILE TNA ONLY HAD A 8 1/3 PERCENT CHANCE OF WINNIN'. HOLLER IF YA HEAR MEEEEEE. Glad that's finally over after years of it being in court.
William Regal will be appearing for the live crowd at EVOLVE events on March 19 and 20. I assume they'll tease some talents being future members of NXT. I'm liking the relationship between NXT and EVOLVE.
WWE Network has now launched in Thailand and the Philippines. Its reach continues to grow. Once they get a firm hold in other countries, hopefully they start offering it in more languages. I know that's easier said than done, but it'll be a big part of the Network's future success internationally.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. More people get Pop than Destination America, so I don't think that's the issue. They're actually doing better on the new network in some ways. I also think it's a case of people having watched TNA in the past and not wanting to watch it again, either because important names have left, disliking past booking decisions, or a number of other reasons (already having their "wrestling fix" from watching other shows, choosing to just watch some highlights online later, etc.). I also think the show has been great in places, but momentum is against the company. It's going to take a lot of time and effort to change that.
1. More people get Pop than Destination America, so I don't think that's the issue. They're actually doing better on the new network in some ways. I also think it's a case of people having watched TNA in the past and not wanting to watch it again, either because important names have left, disliking past booking decisions, or a number of other reasons (already having their "wrestling fix" from watching other shows, choosing to just watch some highlights online later, etc.). I also think the show has been great in places, but momentum is against the company. It's going to take a lot of time and effort to change that.
2. I would mark like no one's business if the Mean Street Posse comes out to help Shane. That might be a little difficult inside Hell in a Cell, though. I think Shane will need to make use of crazy dives, weapons, and so on to have a chance against the Deadman. The really odd part of this is expecting the Texas crowd to pull for Shane in the scenario.
3. Unless he REALLY needed the money and/or got a deal with big strings attached like Brock's, I don't see him coming back to WWE. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a special match against a friend or dream opponent somewhere, but I'm not
4. I'm under the impression the Stardust character was an idea by the Rhodes brothers. Cody's a big comic book fan, so I think he's having fun with the more outlandish character. Dusty had been working for WWE for almost a decade when he passed. Any heat from the NWA/WCW days was gone by that point.
5. It's good to be the king. I don't think anyone without his last name would get away with dropping the F-bomb on his show.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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