British wrestler Kris Travis passed away due to stomach cancer at the age of 32. Kris was a contestant on TNA's second British Bootcamp. That's an unfortunate end to someone who could have had a bright future.
- He was remembered by the head of PCW, who dedicated an upcoming show to Travis.
- PROGRESS also remembered Travis.
- As did a cancer charity he worked with in his final months.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
WWE has announced a Foley family reality series coming to the Network in August. Mick's daughter Noelle is training to be a wrestler, while his son Dewey is helping out with Creative. I have a feeling this is something of a vehicle to get Noelle "over" so to speak, kickstarting her wrestling career. Hopefully her last name just gets her foot in the door and she has to earn her keep like the other WWE hopefuls. Although, her attacking her brother with a kendo stick NEEDS to happen at some point.
John Cena is expected to be cleared to return to the ring soon following intense rehabilitation. He's also expected to be part of Wrestlemania Sunday night. I'm not saying there's a chance he joins Shane against Vince and Taker inside Hell in a Cell, but I'm not *not* saying it either. There's also a chance he teams with New Day against LoN, but I don't know how that would be received. Either way, Cena has some kind of mutant healing factor and he needs to pass that on to people like Kidd, Cesaro, and Rollins. Also, the Raw after WM32 would be the perfect place to set up Cena vs. Taker at WM33.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are booked for the Raw and Smackdown after Wrestlemania 32. It's expected they will debut for WWE shortly as The Balor Club, presumably joined by the current NXT Champion. The stage is set for Finn to drop the title at Takeover in order to begin the transition to being a main roster performer.
NXT matches at AXXESS will feature a number of independent talents. There are plenty in Dallas they can use. I would assume these matches could lead to official tryouts if WWE likes what they see. It's pretty wild they're using non-contracted performers during Wrestlemania week, but it's clearly a new era in WWE's relationships with outsiders.
Daniel Bryan is not in Dallas. He was recently seen working out in Phoenix. I hope he finds something else he loves doing for the next stage of his life.
ROH is holding public autograph signings and merchandize sells at their sold-out shows in Dallas. That's a good idea to get money from fans who were turned away from the show itself.
Triple H held a big conference call ahead of Takeover in Dallas:
- Adding international names to the conference call is cool. I love the new direction of WWE, working with other partners.
- Adding international names to the conference call is cool. I love the new direction of WWE, working with other partners.
- I suppose it's a later show due to it being central standard time in Texas.
- They should do another Takeover special in the UK in June. I mainly say that so they'll transition Balor and Joe to the main roster.
- Very interesting that some people are just working NXT. I definitely hope some of the "guests" like Aries, Ciampa, and Gargano eventually get a chance to move up if they keep impressing.
- Making it in WWE is definitely about more than being a good in-ring performer.
- I absolutely agree about not doing too much TV and too many Takeover specials. They have to careful with that kind of thing.
- So, do the UK promotions get to pick who makes it into the GCS?
- I want to see more promotions in other countries helping out with GCS.
- NXT and WWE have different audiences. There's certainly overlap, but it's apples to oranges and they need to be treated differently.
- Umm... all three Divas came up together. It makes sense for them to have a triple threat.
- I wouldn't assume we're in for a Cruiserweight division. It's fun in small doses, but I REALLY don't want to see "ROH Lite" on a regular basis.
- I liked HHH firing back against the "Vince hates NXT" conspiracy theory. That won't stop the theory, though. It will just be "HHH won't admit to it publicly."
The following names have been announced for WWE's Global Cruiserweight Series:
- NXT's Rich Swann
- NXT's Rich Swann
- EVOLVE star and NXT regular Johnny Gargano
- NXT regular Tommasso Ciampa (who, along with Gargano, is not under exclusive contract to NXT).
- EVOLVE regular and UK star Zack Sabre, Jr.
- British scene regular Noam Dar. Dar has appeared on shows for TNA and ROH while they were in the UK. Dar was born in Israel, so he's even more international.
- Ho Ho Lun, out of Hong Kong.
-- That's a pretty impressive list so far. HHH wasn't kidding about scouring the globe for talent. I look forward to seeing the rest of the series shape up.
NXT will be touring the UK again in June. The brand continues to grow.
WWE and Snapchat are teaming up, starting at Wrestlemania. That's great! WWE's all about being on the social media cutting edge.
NJPW aired a Road to Invasion Attack event live for free on NJPW World, presumably to get buzz during Wrestlemania weekend. That's a good idea! Ideally if people watch that show and like it, they'll become regular subscribers.
ROH has officially signed Lio Rush to a contract. So, he won't be heading to Lucha Underground or anywhere else. We'll see where his career goes from here; he's gotten a lot of buzz for himself lately.
Paul Heyman discussed interviewing Andy Kaufman, who is WAY overdue for going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Kaufman would have LOVED April Fool's Day.
NXT will be taping TV episodes at AXXESS Saturday. It will be interesting to see what the brand looks like after Takeover.
Seen in town for Wrestlemania 32, beyond those set for the show and the Hall of Fame: Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, DDP, The Wild Samoans, Hacksaw Duggan, Gene Okerlund, Gangrel, Haku, Carlos Colon, Hillbilly Jim, Fifi the Maid, X-Pac, and Tatanka.
A Dusty Rhodes statue was revealed at AXXESS. That's great. I hope Piper gets the nod next year.
For my take on the first set of yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. New Day are defending their championship under the Freebird Rule. I can see the link they're going for, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hayes' idea.
1. New Day are defending their championship under the Freebird Rule. I can see the link they're going for, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was Hayes' idea.
2. I can't really criticize any of those picks!
Nothing to add to 3.
4. I wish more wrestling promotions had prominent shows and/or teamed up for supershows. It could be good for the business overall. Obviously that's WAY easier said than done.
5. Memphis, Florida, and Puerto Rico in their primes.
For my take on the second set of yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Maybe, but I don't think it would be pushed as being near the importance of Taker's streak.
Nothing to add to 2.
3. I could see WWE approaching Inoki to get the rights, but I don't see there being much demand for it given how it went down.
4. It's possible WWE just hasn't gotten it Network-ready yet. They've got so much other footage to get to.
5. If it's not in WWE's warehouse, it was probably dismantled long ago (as in, before WWE bought WCW).
More wrestling tomorrow.
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