Superstars:
- Neville vs. Viktor:
Two of the most accomplished names during their NXT careers squaring off.
- Neville vs. Viktor:
Two of the most accomplished names during their NXT careers squaring off.
Neville is like a firework: quick and flashy.
Viktor's OK as a singles guy. He's basically just here to set up Neville's high-flying.
Damn. Neville just basically schooled both former NXT Tag champs. Not that I'm surprised.
- Natalya vs. Summer:
Really impressive chain wrestling here.
Really impressive chain wrestling here.
Summer's great with "the little things" that make a match more than a series of moves.
I bet Summer's really turning heads for people who just know her as a valet.
I really hope we see more from Summer as a wrestler. She's doing really well with the always-solid Natalya.
Really good story being told here. Nice submissions, too.
Wonderful match overall.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Japanese wrestling legend Hayabusa passed away at the age of 47. It's a shame his career was cut short. He was definitely an influence to later stars.
- WWE.com acknowledged his passing. I'm sure some of this was to capitalize on the Internet activity surrounding his passing, but it's still pretty classy to acknowledge someone who never worked for the company. Great remembrances from his peers.
Bret Hart clarified his cancer status. In other words, he doesn't have cancer in the Sharpshooter yet, but this is a good hope spot.
WWE is pushing a campaign built around "#FreeWrestlemania" to get people to try out the WWE Network. If that doesn't get people to try the Network, I don't know what will.
- WWE posted a video with The Rock promoting the campaign. Still no word on what his role will be at WM32. It must not be too huge of a deal considering WWE isn't plugging it very hard.
Jimmy Garvin discussed the Freebirds going into the WWE Hall of Fame. It's a big moment for the legends.
Smackdown's audience grew to 2.49 million this week. They're doing better than their last months on SyFy, for what that's worth.
Information about upcoming NXT live events will be announced Monday. At this point, it's almost not newsworthy to say they're going on the road.
Ric Flair will be having a pre-show party for WrestleMania. I really hope he controls himself there if he's going to be at the show later in the day.
John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Cesaro are rehabilitating from injury at the WWE Performance Center. I hope they're all coming along well.
WWE has released a Wrestlemania 32 magazine for the people who still read those.
Jim Ross talked to USA Today about Wrestlemania and more:
- That burial of modern American wrestlers tho. He has a point.
- JR being at WK9 ended up being really good for WWE.
- That people would be upset with AJ's usage in WWE blows my mind. For someone who's never been in the company before to come in with his own ring name and compete in one of the biggest matches of the calendar year, FOR THE WWE TITLE, is unprecedented. Feuding with Jericho, who's a credible veteran performer, is a good move to show the casual fans what AJ can do.
- Ha. I definitely don't see Reigns turning heel. The contrarians might boo him, but WWE's determined to have him be their next top babyface.
- Cena wasn't "there yet" as a top guy until they let him hold the WWE Title for a while and he grew his way into the role. I think Reigns will be fine in the long-run. He'll still have detractors, but I think he's set to be a big player in the years to come.
- Reigns turning heel would be a pretty stupid swerve, in my eyes, after all that's been thrown at him. It's not much different from Bryan joining the Wyatt Family, but of course since that was Bryan and this is Reigns, fans are reacting completely differently.
- Shane and Taker aren't going to try to do an ROH-style match with 50 moves a minute. Just go out there and beat the hell out of each other with weapons and shenanigans (Mean Street Posse run-in, maybe some other cameos). It'll be good as long as people know what kind of match they're into.
- JR's pretty spot-on about wrestlers needing to be allowed more freedom and personality.
- I can't complain about that Mt. Rushmore.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think it was a great idea on WWE's part. As always, they were looking for a WWE sports entertainer. Low Ki needed to show he could be more than the serious indie warrior.
1. I think it was a great idea on WWE's part. As always, they were looking for a WWE sports entertainer. Low Ki needed to show he could be more than the serious indie warrior.
2. I'm not a big fan of the current TNA announcing team/direction, either. I think it'd be worth the expense to bring Mike Tenay in for commentary again. And maybe Al Snow instead of Pope?
3. USA Network paid big money for a third hour of Raw every week. Even with an audience dropoff, Raw's a bigger money-maker for them on TV than online. I think the suggestions listed would only mean a further decline in the audience, because only the most die-hard fans would stick around for an hour with no matches or in-ring angles. TNA tried this kind of idea with a show called Reaction. The audience immediately and drastically sank once Impact was over and the post-show began. It wasn't picked up after a 10-week trial run.
4. That sounds right. I don't remember seeing anything on its whereabouts in years.
5. Orlando's definitely pushing hard for it. They want WM33 AND WM34.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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