Kevin Owens commented on becoming WWE Universal Champion. Win Owens Win. I hope we see some new merch reflecting the win.
Update: Noted Owens critic Jim Cornette chimed in. I definitely think Owens has more of a leash on him in WWE's system than being the headache he allegedly was when working with Cornette, since in ROH he was a big enough deal to be able to throw his weight around. Overall, a mostly classy response from the usually venomous Cornette.
WWE is pushing that Cesaro suffered "multiple contusions to the lumbar spine" during his match with Sheamus in order to continue their feud. Presumably this sets him up to overcome the odds and win the series. People will either be hypocrites and defend him when he's booked in a way they'd hate to see Reigns or Cena booked, or they'll turn on him once he gets a push like they do every. other. indie darling.
ROH is adding a six-man tag team championship, like their partners CMLL and NJPW have. They're beginning a tournament during All-Star Extravaganza VIII weekend, continuing it on October 29 in Baltimore, and holding the finals at Final Battle on December 2. The Bullet Club, The Cabinet, and The Addiction/Kamaitachi have all been announced as competing in the tournament. I assume the Motor City Machine Guns/Jay White will also be a featured trio. I guess the title isn't a bad idea given ROH's booking approach of throwing a bunch of people together to do spots. Just think of all the double-team and triple-team moves!
Bo Dallas was not backstage at Raw. WWE has not officially commented on his arrest. Whether they'll suspend him or anything remains to be seen.
Alberto Del Rio has been removed from advertising for all WWE events. He's expected to finish up with the company when his contract expires in early October. So, after his suspension, he'll be in the Ryback position for a little while before can do whatever his next step is.
Curt Hawkins was backstage at Smackdown. I would assume we'll see him at Backlash, since they've got a lot of time to fill that night. They might as well have him beat a local talent or something before he takes his rightful place jobbing on Main Event and Superstars.
Charges against former TNA wrestler Crimson have been dropped and his records expunged. That's great news! I hope his life continues in a positive direction. I'd like to see him back in the ring.
Raw's audience Monday was 3.41 million viewers, a decent bump from last week. We'll see how things look next week after the crowning of a new champion and the return of HHH.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Someone has to. AJ's Bald NJPW Buddy Who Isn't The One Who Used To Be Festus might as well be that guy. The Club is a great team, but it makes sense the team that's gimmick was pretty much "typical big man gaijin tag team" in NJPW doesn't stand out as much in WWE where their act and style isn't revolutionary or unique.
2. I think he'd be the perfect Royal Rumble/night after WM33 debut. They should time his main roster ascension for when he can make the most impact. At some point, he'll have done all he can do for NXT and it will be time for him to "graduate," like Balor before him.
3. He might as well. Ditto for Sin Cara. I think Neville can be a U.S. Title-level guy, but I'm not upset he'll be in the same class as people of similar size and ability.
4. She's the Glamamom! I miss her in the ring, too, but I can't say I blame her for not wanting to take bumps anymore if she's financially secure and ready to settle down.
5. These are clearly new, "Smackdown" championships instead of continuations of old titles' lineage. I wish they were Universal titles or World titles, but for whatever reason WWE gave them a different name.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Owens win fallout, SuperCesaro to fight through fictional injury, new title for ROH, Bo update, WWE preparing for Del Rio exit?, Hawkins countdown continues, Crimson cleared legally, Raw audience, and Questions on The Club jobbing, Joe coming to the main roster, Neville in the Cruiserweight division, The Glamamom, and Smackdown's exclusive titles
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Upcoming ROH matches, Dudleys/Team 3D future update, WWE signings working CHIKARA, new cruisers set for Raw, WWE star pulled from flight and arrested, The Big Guy on WWE departure, Sasha injury update, another Backlash match, and Questions on turning Rollins face, why WWE fired Joey, the brand split freshening things up, and turning Carmella
Adam Cole's upcoming NJPW match with Will Ospreay will be for the ROH Championship.
ROH's upcoming Pittsburgh show will feature Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian, as well as Christopher Daniels vs. Jay White.
Colt Cabana vs. Jay Lethal in Duluth, Georgia will be a Ringmaster's Challenge. The first fall is pinfalls only, the second fall is submissions only, and the third "fall" if necessary will be a 30-minute Iron Man match.
-- All those stories sound good for fans of their product.
The Dudley Boyz are already taking select bookings as Team 3D. Following their Raw departure, they're returning to teach at their academy full-time. I'd think they might bear more fruit there than jobbing for WWE for another year.
Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander, and Crazy Mary Dobson are all working CHIKARA's King of Trios event this weekend as they continue to finish out their pre-WWE full-time bookings. Gargano and Cedric are headed to Raw, while Dobson will join the WWEPC.
- Joining Gargano and Alexander in Raw's Cruiserweight division is Tommaso Ciampa. Certainly Johnny and Tommaso are ready for that level. I just hope losing them doesn't do too much damage to NXT's tag team division.
Bo Dallas was pulled from his flight to Mexico for WWE's tour and arrested due to public intoxication. He had been yelling profanity at the flight crew. As hilarious as the visual of Bo singing "Circle of Life" in the terminal is, this was off-screen and doesn't paint him in a positive light. I hope he straightens things out to where he doesn't have this kind of issue in the future.
- Bo was set to team with Curtis Axel against the Usos in Mexico. Instead, Curtis worked singles matches against each Uso on alternating nights.
The Big Guy turned down a three-year, $1.5 million deal with WWE. According to his new podcast, WWE promised him going over AJ Styles at WM32. My head would have exploded if that happened. WWE made the right choice. I like Ryback for the most part, but I don't think he was top guy material in the company with so many other talented performers. Best case scenario, he spends a few years in Japan and comes back to do what Tensai didn't get a chance to.
Sasha Banks will not require surgery for her back injury, which is good. There are plans for her to have a future PPV match with Charlotte when she does return. Maybe at Hell in a Cell or Survivor Series? It will be interesting to see how Bayley and Sasha co-exist.
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt is being advertised for Backlash, so expect that to be announced soon. That's a good next feud for both men. After Dean vs. AJ, we can get AJ vs. Orton and Bray vs. Dean.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't like that specific way to turn him face as much as what they actually did. This way, he can still pretty much be the same character instead of turning into the "golly gee Finn's a good wrestler and so am I and it's all about the title" ROH-style babyface. He's much better with an edge.
1. I don't like that specific way to turn him face as much as what they actually did. This way, he can still pretty much be the same character instead of turning into the "golly gee Finn's a good wrestler and so am I and it's all about the title" ROH-style babyface. He's much better with an edge.
Nothing to add to 2.
3. He also talked about the website people being underappreciated and basically flaunted that he was doing off-script. He was supposed to be more of a spokesperson for WWE. On the bright side, now he can pander to smarques and bash WWE Corporate all he wants!
4. Yes! Absolutely! We won't see the same people who worked Raw work Smackdown and vice versa. Kevin Owens will be on one show a week and a PPV every month, so he won't be so exposed. BROTHER BACK IN THE DAY YOU ONLY SAW THE HULKSTER ON TV THREE TIMES A YEAR JACK.
5. Big Match Nikki's back in the game. With Eva out for a few weeks, they apparently needed a new opponent for her.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, August 29, 2016
WWE live event notes, legendary manager passes, and Questions on wrestlers sharing locker rooms, being paid while injured, Takeover vs. Summerslam, Nikki as a top women's wrestler, and pushing Owens
Notes from WWE's live event in Mexico this weekend:
- Jey Uso beat Curtis Axel. Jimmy stayed in Jey's corner, so he still might not be 100%.
- Bayley is already on live events, replacing Sasha Banks. She beat Charlotte in a non-title match.
As for WWE's live event in Texas this weekend:
- Bob Backlund accompanied Darren Young in Young's triple threat with Titus and Miz (with Maryse). Miz won.
- Sin Cara teamed with Jack Swagger and Golden Truth to beat The Ascension and The Shining Stars. So, the Cara/Swagger team continues in the undercard.
WWE Hall of Famer Mr. Fuji passed away at the age of 82. A legendary heel manager who brought us one of the most memorable segments ever. I hope he and Yokozuna are reunited in that great arena in the sky.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I also wish they went back to the "babyfaces and heels have two different locker rooms" thing. It could be argued those names aren't in a heated enough feud to where they wouldn't share a locker room if they absolutely had to. More likely is they just didn't care enough about the segment to worry about faces and heels being together because "it's all a sports-entertainment variety show anyway!"
2. Finn will also be paid from merchandise and I assume royalties. He'll be fine financially while he recovers. Thank goodness.
3. NXT had the advantage of not having to fill nearly six hours and get almost everyone on the card, etc. The two shows had different audiences and were presented with that in mind.
4. I think Nikki's really improved to the point where I enjoy watching her as a player (but not really THE player) in the women's division. I agree she's in her position for more reasons than wrestling skills, and she pretty much admits that. However, with only so many names on the women's roster, her experience makes her reliable enough to feature prominently in one of the divisions.
5. I'm definitely glad Balor got the big push. He's definitely really talented, and his promos can be covered up to a degree with the Demon King persona. I think Owens can definitely be a major player soon. If he wins tonight, they definitely need something for Rollins to do. I wouldn't mind Owens as champion by the end of the year if they have something suitable for Seth to do while Owens is the top heel. They could certainly turn Rollins face and have them feud. I don't see why those two wouldn't be able to deliver against each other at a top level.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Jey Uso beat Curtis Axel. Jimmy stayed in Jey's corner, so he still might not be 100%.
- Bayley is already on live events, replacing Sasha Banks. She beat Charlotte in a non-title match.
As for WWE's live event in Texas this weekend:
- Bob Backlund accompanied Darren Young in Young's triple threat with Titus and Miz (with Maryse). Miz won.
- Sin Cara teamed with Jack Swagger and Golden Truth to beat The Ascension and The Shining Stars. So, the Cara/Swagger team continues in the undercard.
WWE Hall of Famer Mr. Fuji passed away at the age of 82. A legendary heel manager who brought us one of the most memorable segments ever. I hope he and Yokozuna are reunited in that great arena in the sky.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I also wish they went back to the "babyfaces and heels have two different locker rooms" thing. It could be argued those names aren't in a heated enough feud to where they wouldn't share a locker room if they absolutely had to. More likely is they just didn't care enough about the segment to worry about faces and heels being together because "it's all a sports-entertainment variety show anyway!"
2. Finn will also be paid from merchandise and I assume royalties. He'll be fine financially while he recovers. Thank goodness.
3. NXT had the advantage of not having to fill nearly six hours and get almost everyone on the card, etc. The two shows had different audiences and were presented with that in mind.
4. I think Nikki's really improved to the point where I enjoy watching her as a player (but not really THE player) in the women's division. I agree she's in her position for more reasons than wrestling skills, and she pretty much admits that. However, with only so many names on the women's roster, her experience makes her reliable enough to feature prominently in one of the divisions.
5. I'm definitely glad Balor got the big push. He's definitely really talented, and his promos can be covered up to a degree with the Demon King persona. I think Owens can definitely be a major player soon. If he wins tonight, they definitely need something for Rollins to do. I wouldn't mind Owens as champion by the end of the year if they have something suitable for Seth to do while Owens is the top heel. They could certainly turn Rollins face and have them feud. I don't see why those two wouldn't be able to deliver against each other at a top level.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Superstars Reax - 8/27/16, WWE+NXT+ROH live event notes, and Questions on prescribed medicine in the Wellness policy, Ibushi in Brooklyn, removing monitors from announce tables, WWE using NXT names as jobbers, and what's next for the Network
Superstars:
- Swagger vs. Mahal:
I imagine Swagger's glad someone's lower than him on the Raw pecking order now.
The U-S-A chant is one of the cheapest reaction-getters in wrestling.
Mahal's a solid hand, but I'm not upset he's at this level. Someone has to be, and I don't expect anyone thinks he's ever getting a push.
That was good for the time it had. Jinder got paid, which should be his goal in coming back.
- Golden Truth vs. Axel/Bo:
Well, that Outcasts breakup tease didn't last long. Not that I'm upset. They're fun together and I don't really see much to push as singles stars.
Silliness going on here, as expected. This match is pretty much to warm the crowd up. THEY'RE HAVIN FUN MAGGLE AH LOVE IT.
Pretty basic action, but that's OK. This isn't a big grudge match or anything.
That was fine enough.
Dual-branded live events continued this weekend for WWE. Raw and Smackdown will begin separate tours soon enough; these travel loops were booked some time ago, and it would have been a big hassle to change them.
- The Darren Young/Titus O'Neil feud continued as they lost a triple threat title match to The Miz. I wouldn't assume this means they're in the U.S. Title picture on Raw anytime soon, but that's a possibility. With Balor injured, Rusev might need a different opponent from Roman. Reigns might be in the Universal Title match at Clash of Champions.
Rich Swann is still working NXT live events for now. I assume the cruiserweights will be featured on Raw live events after the division debuts.
Nikki Glencross wrestled as Nikki Cross this weekend, so she might see a name change before appearing on NXT TV again.
Bull James, formerly Bull Dempsey, was backstage at Field of Honor. He's from the area, so I wouldn't read anything into it at this point. I don't know if ROH would want to use him given their style.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I was unaware talents were given a grace period. That changes things! Talents REALLY need to be on the ball with their prescription paperwork. They only have themselves to blame at this point if things don't get taken care of, because they know they'll be suspended if their prescriptions aren't on file.
2. I think people read "Ibushi will be at Takeover" and assumed that meant he'd be wrestling or part of an angle or something. That was speculated, but all that was ever known/reported was him appearing. WWE never advertised him being part of the show or anything, so the people who got their hopes up can't really blame WWE or the dirtsheets. As far as I know, he won't be part of NXT TV in the near future.
3. Because that would hurt MUCH more than just going through a table. I'm not sure how they explain it in kayfabe beyond someone being so angry they're tearing out the monitors. It's also a pretty cool visual.
4.a. A good wrestling promotion needs top names, mid-level names, and undercard names. It also needs good workers who are essentially jobbers at each of those levels. Not everyone can get a push. Sometimes the main roster needs a performer or team to fill out a certain division, and they call people up from NXT to add to the ranks. And sometimes a performer or team has picked up all they can learn at the NXT level (Adam Rose, Tyler Breeze), so they go to the main roster in order to continue their growth. I don't know where this misguided notion that everyone called up is in for a big push came from, but it really doesn't make sense when you break it down.
b. It shouldn't, in most cases. I would think someone with that many years in the business understands the company needs people who work with the people getting pushes in order for those talents to get to the next level, both as far as being over and being more polished in the ring. There are a good number of people who serve this role in NXT, too.
5. Thunder is notably missing from the archives. I wonder if they'd ever be willing to put shows from, say, EVOLVE or PROGRESS or somewhere up on the Network.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Swagger vs. Mahal:
I imagine Swagger's glad someone's lower than him on the Raw pecking order now.
The U-S-A chant is one of the cheapest reaction-getters in wrestling.
Mahal's a solid hand, but I'm not upset he's at this level. Someone has to be, and I don't expect anyone thinks he's ever getting a push.
That was good for the time it had. Jinder got paid, which should be his goal in coming back.
- Golden Truth vs. Axel/Bo:
Well, that Outcasts breakup tease didn't last long. Not that I'm upset. They're fun together and I don't really see much to push as singles stars.
Silliness going on here, as expected. This match is pretty much to warm the crowd up. THEY'RE HAVIN FUN MAGGLE AH LOVE IT.
Pretty basic action, but that's OK. This isn't a big grudge match or anything.
That was fine enough.
Dual-branded live events continued this weekend for WWE. Raw and Smackdown will begin separate tours soon enough; these travel loops were booked some time ago, and it would have been a big hassle to change them.
- The Darren Young/Titus O'Neil feud continued as they lost a triple threat title match to The Miz. I wouldn't assume this means they're in the U.S. Title picture on Raw anytime soon, but that's a possibility. With Balor injured, Rusev might need a different opponent from Roman. Reigns might be in the Universal Title match at Clash of Champions.
Rich Swann is still working NXT live events for now. I assume the cruiserweights will be featured on Raw live events after the division debuts.
Nikki Glencross wrestled as Nikki Cross this weekend, so she might see a name change before appearing on NXT TV again.
Bull James, formerly Bull Dempsey, was backstage at Field of Honor. He's from the area, so I wouldn't read anything into it at this point. I don't know if ROH would want to use him given their style.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I was unaware talents were given a grace period. That changes things! Talents REALLY need to be on the ball with their prescription paperwork. They only have themselves to blame at this point if things don't get taken care of, because they know they'll be suspended if their prescriptions aren't on file.
2. I think people read "Ibushi will be at Takeover" and assumed that meant he'd be wrestling or part of an angle or something. That was speculated, but all that was ever known/reported was him appearing. WWE never advertised him being part of the show or anything, so the people who got their hopes up can't really blame WWE or the dirtsheets. As far as I know, he won't be part of NXT TV in the near future.
3. Because that would hurt MUCH more than just going through a table. I'm not sure how they explain it in kayfabe beyond someone being so angry they're tearing out the monitors. It's also a pretty cool visual.
4.a. A good wrestling promotion needs top names, mid-level names, and undercard names. It also needs good workers who are essentially jobbers at each of those levels. Not everyone can get a push. Sometimes the main roster needs a performer or team to fill out a certain division, and they call people up from NXT to add to the ranks. And sometimes a performer or team has picked up all they can learn at the NXT level (Adam Rose, Tyler Breeze), so they go to the main roster in order to continue their growth. I don't know where this misguided notion that everyone called up is in for a big push came from, but it really doesn't make sense when you break it down.
b. It shouldn't, in most cases. I would think someone with that many years in the business understands the company needs people who work with the people getting pushes in order for those talents to get to the next level, both as far as being over and being more polished in the ring. There are a good number of people who serve this role in NXT, too.
5. Thunder is notably missing from the archives. I wonder if they'd ever be willing to put shows from, say, EVOLVE or PROGRESS or somewhere up on the Network.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
NXT dark match, violinist on NXT experience, more NWA on Network, Interview with Enzo+Cass/TNA music producer, Rosa celebrates big milestone, TNA audience, former WWF tag team champions working Smackdown, another MMA bout for Lashley, Impact preview, and Questions on Dixie losing power in TNA, Bayley's future, Funaki returning on Smackdown, old WCW/NWA music, and Vader returning to WWE
Daria Berenato beat Billie Kay in the dark match at the most recent NXT taping. I hope we see more of both of them going forward.
Violinist Lee England Jr. discussed doing Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance at Takeover. That was a really great musical moment.
WWE Network is adding NWA TV episodes from 1988 and 1989. Those are considered peak yeats for the promotion.
Enzo and Big Cass talked at a New York City soccer game. The company's obviously behind them to give them so many press opportunities like that.
Rosa Mendes marked 10 years (!) of being employed by WWE. In that time, she's wrestled fewer than 300 recorded matches. John Cena wrestled 300 matches in 2014 and 2015 (combined). As many "still employed" jokes as were made about JTG, Rosa leaves him in the dust.
TNA's audience Thursday was 373,000. Other than Final Deletion, that was the best number TNA has pulled for one airing on Pop. Could the arrival of Aron Rex have drawn in some more viewers? That's good news if so. If they can get The Big Guy, Team 3D, and/or Alberto Del Rio, they might be able to start gaining some real momentum, viewership-wise. Of course, those names won't come cheap if they want to come at all.
TNA has filmed a lot of material at Matt Hardy's compound, leading to a "Delete or Decay" match with the Broken Hardys vs. Abyss and Crazzy Steve. This, in essence, will be Final Deletion II, with a bigger budget from the previous spectacle. Whether the match will air at BFG or on Impact is unknown at this time. Either way, I'm sure it will be as incredibly bizarre as the rest of the Broken Matt angle has been.
The Headbangers have announced they'll appear on this week's Smackdown, presumably as part of the ongoing tag team tournament as the opponents of Curt Hawkins and Rhyno. This is something of a "bucket list" achievement for Mosh and Thrasher, as Mosh wants his son to see him compete in a WWE ring for the first time. That should be a fun little cameo, as the duo still wrestles every so often. They even worked some dates for ROH a few years ago as part of the Jim Cornette era.
Lashley has been announced as fighting on October 21 for Bellator. What that means, if anything, for him as a wrestler remains to be seen. TNA will have TV tapings in early October after Bound For Glory on PPV.
TNA's new in-house musician, Sheri Shaw, was profiled. She was brought in for the role by Billy Corgan after working at his independent company. What this means for Dixie Carter's husband's work in that part of the company is unknown. I wouldn't assume he's been booted out as some kind of power struggle or anything, although that's a possibility.
Set for the next episode of Impact Wrestling:
- Ultimate X to crown a new X-Division Champion
- Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake
- Allie's Knockouts Championship celebration
- Lashley defends the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Mike Bennett.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Unless something really big has happened that I missed (which seems unlikely), Dixie remains in charge of TNA. Corgan is running the day-to-day aspects of the company, but Dixie is focusing on the long-term plans for TNA. Basically that includes seeking out more partners/investors, TV deals, and so on. Corgan dealing with the creative direction of Impact allows her to spend more time in those areas. It does look like she'll remain as an on-screen character in addition to her power behind-the-scenes; other than that, there's really not much of a reason for her to be at tapings since that's Corgan's area of the company. Whether she'll lose additional power in the company will depend on if other buyers come aboard and purchase some of her stake in TNA.
2. Bayley's 100% done with NXT. She didn't compete at the post-Brooklyn tapings, so there are no other feuds there for her to be part of.
3. I wouldn't be shocked to see Funaki on WWE TV again, particularly when Nakamura and Itami become part of the main roster. However, his main role right now is Japanese commentary. That's more important than regularly appearing on TV when they have other people who can do that role. There aren't as many people they can count on to do Japanese commentary. If he does appear with Nakamura or Itami, I would think it would be a few cameo appearances during promos rather than him managing them. I wouldn't rule it out, though, as it could be a while before we see either name on the main roster.
4. Yay for public domain music! It's funny to hear the old Hardy Boys music in other contexts. That's why WWE does all their music in-house now.
5. Vader's 61 years old. Outside of a cameo appearance or two for something like an Old School Raw, I think his in-ring days for WWE are over.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Violinist Lee England Jr. discussed doing Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance at Takeover. That was a really great musical moment.
WWE Network is adding NWA TV episodes from 1988 and 1989. Those are considered peak yeats for the promotion.
Enzo and Big Cass talked at a New York City soccer game. The company's obviously behind them to give them so many press opportunities like that.
Rosa Mendes marked 10 years (!) of being employed by WWE. In that time, she's wrestled fewer than 300 recorded matches. John Cena wrestled 300 matches in 2014 and 2015 (combined). As many "still employed" jokes as were made about JTG, Rosa leaves him in the dust.
TNA's audience Thursday was 373,000. Other than Final Deletion, that was the best number TNA has pulled for one airing on Pop. Could the arrival of Aron Rex have drawn in some more viewers? That's good news if so. If they can get The Big Guy, Team 3D, and/or Alberto Del Rio, they might be able to start gaining some real momentum, viewership-wise. Of course, those names won't come cheap if they want to come at all.
TNA has filmed a lot of material at Matt Hardy's compound, leading to a "Delete or Decay" match with the Broken Hardys vs. Abyss and Crazzy Steve. This, in essence, will be Final Deletion II, with a bigger budget from the previous spectacle. Whether the match will air at BFG or on Impact is unknown at this time. Either way, I'm sure it will be as incredibly bizarre as the rest of the Broken Matt angle has been.
The Headbangers have announced they'll appear on this week's Smackdown, presumably as part of the ongoing tag team tournament as the opponents of Curt Hawkins and Rhyno. This is something of a "bucket list" achievement for Mosh and Thrasher, as Mosh wants his son to see him compete in a WWE ring for the first time. That should be a fun little cameo, as the duo still wrestles every so often. They even worked some dates for ROH a few years ago as part of the Jim Cornette era.
Lashley has been announced as fighting on October 21 for Bellator. What that means, if anything, for him as a wrestler remains to be seen. TNA will have TV tapings in early October after Bound For Glory on PPV.
TNA's new in-house musician, Sheri Shaw, was profiled. She was brought in for the role by Billy Corgan after working at his independent company. What this means for Dixie Carter's husband's work in that part of the company is unknown. I wouldn't assume he's been booted out as some kind of power struggle or anything, although that's a possibility.
Set for the next episode of Impact Wrestling:
- Ultimate X to crown a new X-Division Champion
- Ethan Carter III vs. Eli Drake
- Allie's Knockouts Championship celebration
- Lashley defends the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Mike Bennett.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Unless something really big has happened that I missed (which seems unlikely), Dixie remains in charge of TNA. Corgan is running the day-to-day aspects of the company, but Dixie is focusing on the long-term plans for TNA. Basically that includes seeking out more partners/investors, TV deals, and so on. Corgan dealing with the creative direction of Impact allows her to spend more time in those areas. It does look like she'll remain as an on-screen character in addition to her power behind-the-scenes; other than that, there's really not much of a reason for her to be at tapings since that's Corgan's area of the company. Whether she'll lose additional power in the company will depend on if other buyers come aboard and purchase some of her stake in TNA.
2. Bayley's 100% done with NXT. She didn't compete at the post-Brooklyn tapings, so there are no other feuds there for her to be part of.
3. I wouldn't be shocked to see Funaki on WWE TV again, particularly when Nakamura and Itami become part of the main roster. However, his main role right now is Japanese commentary. That's more important than regularly appearing on TV when they have other people who can do that role. There aren't as many people they can count on to do Japanese commentary. If he does appear with Nakamura or Itami, I would think it would be a few cameo appearances during promos rather than him managing them. I wouldn't rule it out, though, as it could be a while before we see either name on the main roster.
4. Yay for public domain music! It's funny to hear the old Hardy Boys music in other contexts. That's why WWE does all their music in-house now.
5. Vader's 61 years old. Outside of a cameo appearance or two for something like an Old School Raw, I think his in-ring days for WWE are over.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, August 26, 2016
WWE names in HOH update, Interviews with Stephanie/Sheamus/Goldberg, Balor injury update, another year for Vince, HBK at NXT, and Questions on Eva Marie's introductions, the CWC winner, WWE covering surgery costs, James Storm's future, and Hawkins returning
Rhyno and Curt Hakwins will finish out their advertised dates for House of Hardcore. Rhyno will finish up at HOH on October 15, while Hawkins will finish there on September 17. WWE generally lets signed names do the non-WWE shows they're already booked for. However, they will work as Rhino and Brian Myers for those shows, as WWE owns the copyrights to their Smackdown ring names.
Stephanie McMahon discussed plans for WWE to continue for another 50 years. We're already seeing her and Triple H take the reins more as they set a course for the future.
Sheamus talked about changing looks and more. I don't envy him having to get his beard braided so often.
Goldberg discussed potentially returning to the ring. I really hope he gets some Ryback chants if he does show up on WWE TV.
Finn Balor's injury is worse than was initially expected. However, he's still expected to make a full recovery. I hope he's a major player when he returns.
Vince McMahon marked his 71st birthday. He's just getting started. He already beat God in a tag match. Death doesn't stand a chance!
Shawn Michaels was at the most recent NXT taping. That kid's really got a future in this business.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I also find them really funny. I'm getting flashbacks to Kaientai. Indeed!
2. I've stayed away from spoilers, but I'd like to throw Gran Metalik and Akira Tozawa into the mix as possibilities. There were indications of them being offered contracts some time back. So, really, pretty much any of the remaining eight have a chance going into the final stretch.
3. WWE making the talent pay for surgeries, etc. would be an awful idea because talents might take risks to get back in the ring faster/take less expensive but more dangerous options of recovery.
4. You'll see Storm pop up again on TV before BFG, so more will be known then. It definitely felt like a heel turn.
5. What does it say about Curt Hawkins that they gave him a 10-year-old gimmick AND people get his name wrong in questions? I'm surprised they didn't give him the Jinder treatment and just do the bare minimum before shipping him back to Superstars.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Stephanie McMahon discussed plans for WWE to continue for another 50 years. We're already seeing her and Triple H take the reins more as they set a course for the future.
Sheamus talked about changing looks and more. I don't envy him having to get his beard braided so often.
Goldberg discussed potentially returning to the ring. I really hope he gets some Ryback chants if he does show up on WWE TV.
Finn Balor's injury is worse than was initially expected. However, he's still expected to make a full recovery. I hope he's a major player when he returns.
Vince McMahon marked his 71st birthday. He's just getting started. He already beat God in a tag match. Death doesn't stand a chance!
Shawn Michaels was at the most recent NXT taping. That kid's really got a future in this business.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I also find them really funny. I'm getting flashbacks to Kaientai. Indeed!
2. I've stayed away from spoilers, but I'd like to throw Gran Metalik and Akira Tozawa into the mix as possibilities. There were indications of them being offered contracts some time back. So, really, pretty much any of the remaining eight have a chance going into the final stretch.
3. WWE making the talent pay for surgeries, etc. would be an awful idea because talents might take risks to get back in the ring faster/take less expensive but more dangerous options of recovery.
4. You'll see Storm pop up again on TV before BFG, so more will be known then. It definitely felt like a heel turn.
5. What does it say about Curt Hawkins that they gave him a 10-year-old gimmick AND people get his name wrong in questions? I'm surprised they didn't give him the Jinder treatment and just do the bare minimum before shipping him back to Superstars.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Main Event Reax - 8/24/16 and ROH Reax - 8/26/16
Read on for my thoughts on this week's Main Event and ROH.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Upcoming ROH matches, Bayley says goodbye to NXT, Smackdown audience, Interview with Gargano, original Summerslam and post-Summerslam plans, Sting on signing with WWE, and Questions on Rollins' powerbomb, SuperReigns, the uniform title designs, and Y2J as champion
Taeler Hendrix vs. Deonna Purrazzo has been added to Field of Honor. I'm surprised no one has officially signed Purrazzo.
The Motor City Machine Guns and Jay White vs. The Addiction and Kamaitachi in a "lucha rules" six-man tag is set for ROH's September 24 show. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I'm sure we'll see a lot of flips.
Bayley commented on leaving NXT. I hope we see some great names step up now that she's moved on to Raw.
Smackdown's audience Tuesday was 2.71 million. That's an impressive bump after Summerslam.
Johnny Gargano talked about working Takeover in Brooklyn. I don't think that will be his last crowd of more than 10,000.
The original plans for Finn Balor's Universal Title reign were for him to face Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions, then have a three-way with Owens and Y2J at HIAC. That sounds like it could have been incredible. I hope WWE has a strong backup plan. I assume we'll still see Jericho and Owens face off soon.
Stephanie McMahon's memoir was changed to being named "unREAL!" after WWE couldn't copyright the name Lady Balls. Neither name is great.
Sting revealed he had negotiations with WWE in 2002, with the plan of him facing Kurt Angle at WMX8. That could have been great, given their matches years later in TNA. Sting also told JBL it took the reaction to Sting being in WWE 2K14 in order for Vince to bring him in, as Vince felt it had been too long to capitalize on Sting's earlier successes. It will be interesting to see if the scenario repeats itself with Goldberg.
Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto was originally set for Summerslam, but with so many other matches set for the show, they were left out. I expect we'll see that match at Backlash instead.
Before Reigns' Wellness violation, WWE planned on having him face Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at Summerslam (with Smackdown getting the secondary title). Finn Balor would have feuded with Chris Jericho. I can certainly see Y2J vs. Balor happening next year when Balor recovers; Jericho's been a fan of his for a while now.
Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1 is a repeat, but I definitely think he should drop that move. It's too dangerous.
Nothing to really add to 2.
3. It's definitely how Vince books people he wants to push. If it was a Japanese/indie star displaying "fighting spirit," those same people would be all for it/chanting "this is awesome." It's more of a case of fans not liking the star in question and looking for a reason to complain than any objective dislike of a certain style.
4. I can see the logic in not having one brand's titles looking better or worse than the other. Ultimately, the physical design of the belt isn't nearly as important as the fact it's something wrestlers are actually trying to win. But of course everyone has to complain about anything they can think of to complain about.
5. I think the last thing they should do to sell a New Era is put the title on a 45-year-old part-timer. Jericho's great, but he should remain in a supporting role. He got to be a main eventer when he was the new, young guy, and even had some big runs as he got older. I don't think he should be Goldust level or anything, but it's time for someone new to shine.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Motor City Machine Guns and Jay White vs. The Addiction and Kamaitachi in a "lucha rules" six-man tag is set for ROH's September 24 show. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I'm sure we'll see a lot of flips.
Bayley commented on leaving NXT. I hope we see some great names step up now that she's moved on to Raw.
Smackdown's audience Tuesday was 2.71 million. That's an impressive bump after Summerslam.
Johnny Gargano talked about working Takeover in Brooklyn. I don't think that will be his last crowd of more than 10,000.
The original plans for Finn Balor's Universal Title reign were for him to face Kevin Owens at Clash of Champions, then have a three-way with Owens and Y2J at HIAC. That sounds like it could have been incredible. I hope WWE has a strong backup plan. I assume we'll still see Jericho and Owens face off soon.
Stephanie McMahon's memoir was changed to being named "unREAL!" after WWE couldn't copyright the name Lady Balls. Neither name is great.
Sting revealed he had negotiations with WWE in 2002, with the plan of him facing Kurt Angle at WMX8. That could have been great, given their matches years later in TNA. Sting also told JBL it took the reaction to Sting being in WWE 2K14 in order for Vince to bring him in, as Vince felt it had been too long to capitalize on Sting's earlier successes. It will be interesting to see if the scenario repeats itself with Goldberg.
Baron Corbin vs. Kalisto was originally set for Summerslam, but with so many other matches set for the show, they were left out. I expect we'll see that match at Backlash instead.
Before Reigns' Wellness violation, WWE planned on having him face Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship at Summerslam (with Smackdown getting the secondary title). Finn Balor would have feuded with Chris Jericho. I can certainly see Y2J vs. Balor happening next year when Balor recovers; Jericho's been a fan of his for a while now.
Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1 is a repeat, but I definitely think he should drop that move. It's too dangerous.
Nothing to really add to 2.
3. It's definitely how Vince books people he wants to push. If it was a Japanese/indie star displaying "fighting spirit," those same people would be all for it/chanting "this is awesome." It's more of a case of fans not liking the star in question and looking for a reason to complain than any objective dislike of a certain style.
4. I can see the logic in not having one brand's titles looking better or worse than the other. Ultimately, the physical design of the belt isn't nearly as important as the fact it's something wrestlers are actually trying to win. But of course everyone has to complain about anything they can think of to complain about.
5. I think the last thing they should do to sell a New Era is put the title on a 45-year-old part-timer. Jericho's great, but he should remain in a supporting role. He got to be a main eventer when he was the new, young guy, and even had some big runs as he got older. I don't think he should be Goldust level or anything, but it's time for someone new to shine.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Backstage altercation at Summerslam, Dudleys leave WWE, Takeover injury?, Foley on fans rejecting universal title, Chinese name debuting soon, NXT live events set, what happened after Raw and Smackdown, advertised name not at Raw, EVOLVE names finish up, Regal at EVOLVE tryout, Balor update, Zayn note, AJ Styles documentary, Raw audience, new sets, Miz goes in on Bryan on Talking Smack, and Questions on WWE title designs, what should have closed Summerslam, Bayley on Raw, who owns Bully Ray, and Seth's moveset
Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho had a confrontation following Brock's match at Summerslam. The match with Orton ended with a TKO as planned, although drawing blood was accidental. However, the planned ending was kept under wraps and Jericho was worried the match was stopped due to Orton being legitimately hurt by Lesnar. Brock and Jericho then had a confrontation when Brock returned backstage, with WWE management including HHH and Vince separating the pair before they could some to blows. There was no heat on either party, as it was just seen as tempers flaring.
The Dudleys/Team 3D are indeed officially free agents after the angle shot at Raw. While they had agreed to a new deal a few weeks ago, it had yet to come into effect. The two sides parted ways amicably, and the beatdown from The Club was designed to leave the door open for a future feud if the two sides decide to work together in the future. Upon returning backstage, the team received a standing ovation from everyone on the Raw roster as well as all the members of management present, including the McMahons. The plan before the team left was for the duo to split and for Bubba Ray to get a push as a singles competitor. It's unknown how big of a push was planned.
- As for their next move, it's up in the air. Obviously the veteran tag team has been pretty much everywhere and done pretty much everything, but I don't see them hanging up the boots just yet. The Dudleys might be finished, but Team 3D could very well live on in other promotions.
Austin Aries tweeted he suffered a ruptured eardrum at Takeover. Whether that's a work or he'll miss any time remains to be seen. Aries vs. Itami should be quite the feud.
Mick Foley criticized fans booing the design of the Universal Championship. The championship was unveiled before the live crowd while a video package was playing on air, with Mick sarcastically saying something along the lines of putting a lot of effort into designing a new belt before it was shown. It's definitely not a great design, but I agree the live crowd took the focus away from two amazing athletes in order to focus on something more minor.
Bin Wang will debut at WWE's live event in China on September 10 against Bo Dallas. I expect that's a one-time thing before he heads to NXT, presumably starting at live events rather than on TV.
NXT will tour Virginia on October 6 and 7, and Maryland on October 8.
After Raw, John Cena and Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. That was the last time Smackdown talents will work a Raw dark match, as Smackdown live events on Mondays begin next week.
Shane McMahon was advertised at the venue for Raw, but didn't appear in front of the crowd. I would say he was selling the F5, but he showed up the night after diving off HIAC. There had to have been some way they could have featured him during a commercial break or something, just to cut a promo to continue his angle.
Cedric Alexander and Tommy End have finished their scheduled dates with EVOLVE. Cedric's headed to the cruiserweight division, while End is set to start at the WWEPC soon. TJ Perkins will presumably wrap up his dates at their September 10 show.
William Regal will be part of a tryout/seminar with EVOLVE on October 16. He could lay eyes on some NXT prospects that day.
Finn Balor will miss between four and six months following surgery for his torn labrum. So, he could be a surprise return for the Royal Rumble or show up in time to challenge for the title at WM33 without winning the Rumble.
- Balor posted a photo of the procedure.
Sami Zayn is OK after Raw. He just sold really well. He's a pro!
Fite TV has a long documentary on AJ Styles' road to WWE. I hope AJ has success going forward.
Raw's audience this week was 3.32 million, getting a boost from being the night after a big PPV. With no Brock and Finn relinquishing the title, they've got their work cut out for them in keeping that number up.
Smackdown debuted a new set Tuesday night to follow Raw's new set from Monday. Both look really slick and unique to each other.
After Smackdown, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Erick Rowan. So Cena was there but was selling the loss to AJ on TV.
On Talking Smack following Smackdown, The Miz and Daniel Bryan had an exchange that has people speculating WWE is building toward Bryan returning to the ring. That was AMAZING.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The new belts were already made by the time people saw the Universal Title live. It'd be expensive and time-consuming to change course now. WWE's committed to the color scheme and title designs, so we might as well get used to them like we got used to the spinner WWE Title. At LEAST all the titles aren't built on that design, although that would be funny in its own way. I'm interested to see what the cruiserweight championship will look like.
2. I think fans were still going to react negatively to the Universal Title design. I don't blame them for ending with such a big match and controversial ending. Otherwise they'd have to give updates on Brock and Orton throughout the night. That would lessen the impact of the ending.
3. I can live with it since Sasha's out. As long as Smackdown gets some names going forward (Tamina, Emma, the next NXT callup), it might be the right move. If WWE REALLY wants to, they can have a woman "leave Raw and sign to Smackdown" to make things more even, and they can update the roster next year in the draft.
4. Bubba/Bully actually owns the mark himself, so he can use it wherever he wants if that company approves of it. I don't think we would have seen him use that name in WWE, but it would have definitely sold his transformation as a heel if he turned on D-Von and went on as a singles star, as was seemingly the plan before the pair decided to leave.
5. It's definitely time to drop that move, and possibly the knee to the face for the reasons stated. The powerbomb in particular is really hard for a talent to protect themselves in.
More wrestling tomorrow.
The Dudleys/Team 3D are indeed officially free agents after the angle shot at Raw. While they had agreed to a new deal a few weeks ago, it had yet to come into effect. The two sides parted ways amicably, and the beatdown from The Club was designed to leave the door open for a future feud if the two sides decide to work together in the future. Upon returning backstage, the team received a standing ovation from everyone on the Raw roster as well as all the members of management present, including the McMahons. The plan before the team left was for the duo to split and for Bubba Ray to get a push as a singles competitor. It's unknown how big of a push was planned.
- As for their next move, it's up in the air. Obviously the veteran tag team has been pretty much everywhere and done pretty much everything, but I don't see them hanging up the boots just yet. The Dudleys might be finished, but Team 3D could very well live on in other promotions.
Austin Aries tweeted he suffered a ruptured eardrum at Takeover. Whether that's a work or he'll miss any time remains to be seen. Aries vs. Itami should be quite the feud.
Mick Foley criticized fans booing the design of the Universal Championship. The championship was unveiled before the live crowd while a video package was playing on air, with Mick sarcastically saying something along the lines of putting a lot of effort into designing a new belt before it was shown. It's definitely not a great design, but I agree the live crowd took the focus away from two amazing athletes in order to focus on something more minor.
Bin Wang will debut at WWE's live event in China on September 10 against Bo Dallas. I expect that's a one-time thing before he heads to NXT, presumably starting at live events rather than on TV.
NXT will tour Virginia on October 6 and 7, and Maryland on October 8.
After Raw, John Cena and Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. That was the last time Smackdown talents will work a Raw dark match, as Smackdown live events on Mondays begin next week.
Shane McMahon was advertised at the venue for Raw, but didn't appear in front of the crowd. I would say he was selling the F5, but he showed up the night after diving off HIAC. There had to have been some way they could have featured him during a commercial break or something, just to cut a promo to continue his angle.
Cedric Alexander and Tommy End have finished their scheduled dates with EVOLVE. Cedric's headed to the cruiserweight division, while End is set to start at the WWEPC soon. TJ Perkins will presumably wrap up his dates at their September 10 show.
William Regal will be part of a tryout/seminar with EVOLVE on October 16. He could lay eyes on some NXT prospects that day.
Finn Balor will miss between four and six months following surgery for his torn labrum. So, he could be a surprise return for the Royal Rumble or show up in time to challenge for the title at WM33 without winning the Rumble.
- Balor posted a photo of the procedure.
Sami Zayn is OK after Raw. He just sold really well. He's a pro!
Fite TV has a long documentary on AJ Styles' road to WWE. I hope AJ has success going forward.
Raw's audience this week was 3.32 million, getting a boost from being the night after a big PPV. With no Brock and Finn relinquishing the title, they've got their work cut out for them in keeping that number up.
Smackdown debuted a new set Tuesday night to follow Raw's new set from Monday. Both look really slick and unique to each other.
After Smackdown, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Erick Rowan. So Cena was there but was selling the loss to AJ on TV.
On Talking Smack following Smackdown, The Miz and Daniel Bryan had an exchange that has people speculating WWE is building toward Bryan returning to the ring. That was AMAZING.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The new belts were already made by the time people saw the Universal Title live. It'd be expensive and time-consuming to change course now. WWE's committed to the color scheme and title designs, so we might as well get used to them like we got used to the spinner WWE Title. At LEAST all the titles aren't built on that design, although that would be funny in its own way. I'm interested to see what the cruiserweight championship will look like.
2. I think fans were still going to react negatively to the Universal Title design. I don't blame them for ending with such a big match and controversial ending. Otherwise they'd have to give updates on Brock and Orton throughout the night. That would lessen the impact of the ending.
3. I can live with it since Sasha's out. As long as Smackdown gets some names going forward (Tamina, Emma, the next NXT callup), it might be the right move. If WWE REALLY wants to, they can have a woman "leave Raw and sign to Smackdown" to make things more even, and they can update the roster next year in the draft.
4. Bubba/Bully actually owns the mark himself, so he can use it wherever he wants if that company approves of it. I don't think we would have seen him use that name in WWE, but it would have definitely sold his transformation as a heel if he turned on D-Von and went on as a singles star, as was seemingly the plan before the pair decided to leave.
5. It's definitely time to drop that move, and possibly the knee to the face for the reasons stated. The powerbomb in particular is really hard for a talent to protect themselves in.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
WWE/ROH injury updates, Seth on the Universal Title, Interviews with Cage/Foley/Goldberg, Velvet update, future Legends with JBL guests, backstage guests this weekend, Brock update, Twitter users suspended for Summerslam content, WWE scouting Olympics, what happened after Summerslam, top UK name working ROH tour, Dudleys say goodbye to WWE, first Raw cruiserweights confirmed, and Questions on appealing suspensions, pale wrestlers, Mauro's commentary, why people get suspended, and WWE breaking so many monitors
Seth Rollins fired back at fans unhappy over the appearance of the Universal Championship. He's right. I think the title looks bad, too, but the great Rollins/Balor match should matter more than disliking the belt. The last thing fans should do is make the belt more important that the performers. It tells WWE they don't care as much about the amazing athletes as they do about something minor.
Finn Balor's right arm was legitimately injured during his match with Seth Rollins. The powerbomb into the barricade is believed to have caused the injury. That's really unfortunate given how big of a milestone Sunday was for Finn. I hope he returns in a big way like Rollins did before him. That scary powerbomb into a hard surface spot needs to be changed/dropped after injuring Sting and now Balor. Rollins is talented enough to not "need" it to have great matches.
- Balor did not wear a sling during his GMA appearance, since that was before his shoulder was checked out.
- Balor dislocated his shoulder during the spot in addition to tearing his labrum. It was announced on Raw he'll miss about six months. Really tough timing. I hope he has a long and fruitful career once he returns.
Randy Orton needed ten staples after Brock Lesnar busted him open at Summerslam. That was a frightening ending.
Brian Cage discussed being in WWE developmental and more. There are definitely talented people WWE (or any company really) doesn't see as "THE guy" or someone worth pushing for various reasons. That's why it's good there are multiple places for wrestlers to make a living.
Velvet Sky is now taking limited bookings. With WWE presumably uninterested, and having already spent a long time in TNA, her options of working at a top level with a major promotion are limited.
Mick Foley talked about working with Vince McMahon. I would think "grabbing the brass ring" to Vince would be asking for some of his time, pitching him ideas, and selling why you deserve a push. It's definitely a lot more than going hard in the ring.
Bruno Sammartino, Jimmy Hart, and Stan Hansen will be on future episodes of Legends with JBL. That's an impressive lineup.
The former Bull Dempsey was backstage at Takeover: Brooklyn. I really wish he would have led a faction of exercising superstars (or extras like the Rosebuds) as the Bull Fit Club.
Goldberg had been pitched as an addition to the WWE 2K series in previous years, but WWE didn't approve his appearance until this year. I expect Kurt Angle and the Hardys in future years.
Lil Jon and Wale were at this weekend's WWE 2K17 media event. Lil Jon performed.
Brock Lesnar was not at Raw. I'm curious when we'll see him again. Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series would be ideal sites for Suplex City. I'd like to see him face Shane and Goldberg. He might as well toss them around instead of potentially curtailing the push of a full-time top name.
Michael Elgin needed a number of staples to close a wound after DBD14. Jay Briscoe and Hangman Page had some bad flesh wounds after going through a table, but are OK to continue. Page vs. Briscoe was one of the best matches of a packed weekend due to its sheer brutality.
Goldberg talked at the WWE 2K17 launch. Come on, man! One last run and then go into the Hall. I can respect him having a big life outside of wrestling, though.
A lot of Twitter accounts were suspended for posting GIFs from Summerslam, either due to WWE legal going on a rampage or Twitter themselves cracking down. At the end of the day, it's WWE's content and they're going to protect it when they can.
Gerald Brisco was at the Olympics scouting wrestlers for WWE. I hope they pick up some talented names there.
Pat Patterson and the NXT roster were backstage at Summerslam. It was a big weekend for everyone in WWE.
Sasha Banks was helped backstage by referees after her Summerslam match. Hopefully she deals with her issues and comes back strong.
After Summerslam ended, Shane McMahon helped Randy Orton to the back.
Marty Scurll will be working ROH's UK tour this November. He's a pretty buzzed-about name from that area, so I can see why they're interested. We'll see if he becomes more of a regular.
Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley tweeted goodbyes to WWE before Raw. It's a surprise they've decided to part ways, since they had just signed a new contract to stick around. We'll see what they have planned and what their goals are going forward. I really doubt we've seen the last of them in a wrestling ring, but that could have been their last run in WWE. They've absolutely earned the right to make their own futures.
Raw will see the debut of the cruiserweight division on September 19. Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, Noam Dar, and Rich Swann have all been announced as being signed for that endeavor. Cedric Alexander has also signed, and I suspect we'll see more names announced in the weeks to come. This initiative can open doors for a good number of talents going forward.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I don't see WWE "unsuspending" anyone. They might adjust the amount of time talents have to show paperwork, but I expect they'll keep things as is. It's the talent's duty to get that paperwork in ASAP.
1. I don't see WWE "unsuspending" anyone. They might adjust the amount of time talents have to show paperwork, but I expect they'll keep things as is. It's the talent's duty to get that paperwork in ASAP.
2. I've got to throw Aiden English in the mix, too. If those names went bald and lost their facial hair, they could try out to be Dustin Rhodes' Seven character from WCW.
3. The pop culture references are probably something he's being told to do. I admire his passion, but I can see how his voice and style aren't for everyone.
4. Talents have to be smart with how they achieve results. Staying clean is likely much easier said than done, with all the magical "all natural" ways to lose weight and gain muscle. Saying your prayers and taking your vitamins only gets you so far, but WWE's serious about cracking down on PEDs.
5. They're not that expensive for a company with WWE's budget. I can only imagine how many steel chairs, monitors, tables, kendo sticks, etc. they go through in a year!
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Summerslam press, Joey-EVOLVE update, injury updates, NXT matches taped, NXT and Summerslam guests, Goldberg return update, new WWEPC signings, another top name to NXT?, big WWE trademark, shout-out for top NXT talent, HHH praises Takeover, and Questions on the stacked Summerslam card, headlining Summeslam, Eva Marie's appeal, double standards with Brock, and signing the CWC winner
Randy Orton discussed facing Brock and put over Smackdown.
Joey Styles will have a recurring role in EVOLVE going forward, possibly as something of a commissioner. He will not be a regular announcer, however. Styles approached EVOLVE about coming in.
- Joey is open to being booked to call more matches, inside and outside EVOLVE.
Samoa Joe's jaw is believed to be fine after Takeover. He sold it really well for people to be legitimately questioning if he broke it.
Taped before Takeover for this week's NXT:
- The Authors of Pain vs. TM61
- Wesley Blake vs. Tye Dillinger
-- I hope we see more of Dillinger given the connection he's gotten with the crowd.
- The Authors of Pain vs. TM61
- Wesley Blake vs. Tye Dillinger
-- I hope we see more of Dillinger given the connection he's gotten with the crowd.
A number of NXT alumni were in attendance at Takeover. They weren't booked to appear, so they came to see the action on what could have been a night off before Summerslam.
Pat Patterson's co-author was also in attendance at Takeover.
Goldberg had double knee surgery six weeks ago. What that means regarding an in-ring return is unclear. He could very well just do one match at WM33, if he even returns at all.
Tommy End and Crazy Mary Dobson have signed developmental deals with NXT. Signing Mary before Purrazzo, Santana Garrett, or Tessa Blanchard is a surprise given how well those names have done in their NXT TV appearances. All three are worth picking up.
Eric Young is believed to have signed a deal with WWE, presumably to work on the NXT brand. I could see that weird Sanity video being for the World Class Maniac. He'd be a great hand to have on board for any brand.
WWE has applied to trademark Demon King for clothes, action figures, etc., so they're running with that nickname for Balor. I hope he becomes the star they've been priming him to be. That would mean parents not freaking out about the moniker Demon King.
Daniel Bryan addressed Conor McGregor's recent comments and more. If Bryan was medically cleared, I'd absolutely pay to see that fight.
- In a different Bryan interview, he discussed the CWC and working with Shane. There are definitely some blue chip prospects from the CWC. A number of names could fit right in on Raw or NXT TV, and I'm sure more could go to developmental. As for Shane, it sounds like it's great to have him back on board.
The Miami Herald covered WWE stars visiting the (new) World Trade Center. The Herald always does good publicity on WWE.
The Rock shouted out Bobby Roode after Roode's big showing at Takeover: Brooklyn. It's cool Rock shows love to some of today's stars, especially the less-mainstream names.
Triple H put over the performance of Takeover:Brooklyn II. NXT continues to reach great heights.
Ric Flair and Dennis Haskins were backstage at Summerslam.
Sasha Banks has been given a few weeks off to recuperate from unspecified issues. Her loss to Charlotte was planned in advance in order to accomplish this recovery.
- IWGP World Champion Kazuchika Okada was also backstage, visiting with Shinsuke Nakamura. He was at last year's event as well after working an ROH show in the area. Okada's definitely
For my (pre-Summerslam) take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Not at all. The card is really stacked, and I don't get the feeling they added part-timers and non-wrestlers just to appeal to outsiders. Brock's still very much game, and Jon Stewart is more of a cameo addition than anything.
1. Not at all. The card is really stacked, and I don't get the feeling they added part-timers and non-wrestlers just to appeal to outsiders. Brock's still very much game, and Jon Stewart is more of a cameo addition than anything.
2. That reasoning definitely makes sense. Ending the card with Balor vs. Rollins would definitely show WWE's serious about the New Era putting fresh faces at the forefront. I won't fault them for going with Brock vs. Orton, though.
3. I expect she'll serve the full suspension and everyone will be more diligent with getting their paperwork in on-time.
4. Sounds like they're getting the hard lesson of life not being fair. It's telling the guy who left the company after a huge push is treated better than people who are bending over backward to do everything asked for them only to be stuck lower on the card.
5. It would definitely do the division no favors if the CWC winner isn't around for the launch. It'd be great if both finalists are regulars going forward. Also, I think they can and should crown the first champion at Clash of Champions in front of a larger audience.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Big Impact matches, Interview with Ryder, associated WWE/Summerslam press, Bellas back, Steph finishes book, Kickoff matches, TNA audience, more on Eva's suspension, and Questions on LGBT characters in WWE, rebuilding the IC Title, the obsolete mule formerly known as Jeff Hardy, WWE movies on the Network, and Reby Sky's pre-TNA life
Two big matches set for next week's Impact Wrestling:
- EC3 vs. Drew Galloway with Aron Rex as the special referee. The winner gets EC3's title shot at Bound For Glory.
- A battle royal with the winner getting a shot at the TNA Championship before BFG.
Zack Ryder talked ahead of Summerslam:
- I'm interested to see how Hawkins' and Ryder's paths cross going forward with them both being on Smackdown. It's such an obvious story to do. How does Hawkins feel about Ryder teaming with Mojo? Does Hawkins try to get Tyler Reks back in the picture to challenge the Hype Bros?
- Ryder was replacing Neville in that match. I'm glad he got the big moment at WM32 nonetheless.
- I'm glad Ryder's OK with being a tag team guy. Between having a spot as a tag guy and not getting any work/pay, the choice is pretty clear. How many people get their ideal spot in wrestling, or life for that matter?
The Miz, Kane, and Big Show rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Friday.
Brie Bella is in town for Summerslam weekend, likely filming material for "Total Divas."
Nikki Bella has been cleared to return to the ring, so she could pop back up on Raw or Smackdown soon. Smackdown really needs her more than Raw. Her appearing at Summerslam due to Eva's suspension would make sense.
Mick Foley was on New York City's local FOX station promoting Summerslam and "Holy Foley."
Pat Patterson's autobiography got a positive review. I look forward to checking it out.
Sami Zayn and Finn Balor talked to promote Summerslam. It's a shame Zayn was added to the pre-show at the last minute.
Stephanie McMahon has finished her memoir, which will be released in early October.
Set for Kickoff before Summerslam:
- Sami Zayn/Neville vs. Dudley Boys
- American Alpha/Usos/Hype Bros vs. Vaudevillains/Ascension/Breezango
-- I'm curious to see if Neville and Zayn are part of the cruiserweight division. Hopefully they don't get pigeonholed.They could compete there and go for the U.S. Title as well.
Impact Wrestling's audience this week was 355,000 viewers, a nice jump from last week. The show has generally been pretty entertaining this summer.
TMZ is reporting Eva Marie was suspended due to using Adderall without having a prescription on file. Eva states she was unable to get the paperwork to WWE on-time. They should really institute a seven-day or so appeal process before suspending someone. I understand wanting to take a hard stance on substance abuse, but they should let the talent have an opportunity to provide a valid explanation for the failed test. At any rate, talents should take this suspension as a tough reminder to get their paperwork in during the appointed timeframe.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I definitely think so. The world and company are at a very different place from 2003. To me, this is like asking if 1997 WWF would have characters flip the bird and say "suck it" since it's the same company that did Doink and the Gobbledy Gooker. Times have really changed.
2. It's much easier to just make another top title! The plan is for each brand to have a world title, midcard title, tag team title, and women's title, plus Raw's cruiserweight title. They might as well get right to it. Each brand's roster's big enough for a world title and midcard title.
3. TNA still advertises Nero as Jeff since more people know him by his pre-deleted name.
4. I assumed it was for pretty much the same reason they don't put XFL games on there (there's not enough interest), but that makes sense, too.
5. You might also know her from Playboy.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- EC3 vs. Drew Galloway with Aron Rex as the special referee. The winner gets EC3's title shot at Bound For Glory.
- A battle royal with the winner getting a shot at the TNA Championship before BFG.
Zack Ryder talked ahead of Summerslam:
- I'm interested to see how Hawkins' and Ryder's paths cross going forward with them both being on Smackdown. It's such an obvious story to do. How does Hawkins feel about Ryder teaming with Mojo? Does Hawkins try to get Tyler Reks back in the picture to challenge the Hype Bros?
- Ryder was replacing Neville in that match. I'm glad he got the big moment at WM32 nonetheless.
- I'm glad Ryder's OK with being a tag team guy. Between having a spot as a tag guy and not getting any work/pay, the choice is pretty clear. How many people get their ideal spot in wrestling, or life for that matter?
The Miz, Kane, and Big Show rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Friday.
Brie Bella is in town for Summerslam weekend, likely filming material for "Total Divas."
Nikki Bella has been cleared to return to the ring, so she could pop back up on Raw or Smackdown soon. Smackdown really needs her more than Raw. Her appearing at Summerslam due to Eva's suspension would make sense.
Mick Foley was on New York City's local FOX station promoting Summerslam and "Holy Foley."
Pat Patterson's autobiography got a positive review. I look forward to checking it out.
Sami Zayn and Finn Balor talked to promote Summerslam. It's a shame Zayn was added to the pre-show at the last minute.
Stephanie McMahon has finished her memoir, which will be released in early October.
Set for Kickoff before Summerslam:
- Sami Zayn/Neville vs. Dudley Boys
- American Alpha/Usos/Hype Bros vs. Vaudevillains/Ascension/Breezango
-- I'm curious to see if Neville and Zayn are part of the cruiserweight division. Hopefully they don't get pigeonholed.They could compete there and go for the U.S. Title as well.
Impact Wrestling's audience this week was 355,000 viewers, a nice jump from last week. The show has generally been pretty entertaining this summer.
TMZ is reporting Eva Marie was suspended due to using Adderall without having a prescription on file. Eva states she was unable to get the paperwork to WWE on-time. They should really institute a seven-day or so appeal process before suspending someone. I understand wanting to take a hard stance on substance abuse, but they should let the talent have an opportunity to provide a valid explanation for the failed test. At any rate, talents should take this suspension as a tough reminder to get their paperwork in during the appointed timeframe.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I definitely think so. The world and company are at a very different place from 2003. To me, this is like asking if 1997 WWF would have characters flip the bird and say "suck it" since it's the same company that did Doink and the Gobbledy Gooker. Times have really changed.
2. It's much easier to just make another top title! The plan is for each brand to have a world title, midcard title, tag team title, and women's title, plus Raw's cruiserweight title. They might as well get right to it. Each brand's roster's big enough for a world title and midcard title.
3. TNA still advertises Nero as Jeff since more people know him by his pre-deleted name.
4. I assumed it was for pretty much the same reason they don't put XFL games on there (there's not enough interest), but that makes sense, too.
5. You might also know her from Playboy.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Superstars Reax - 8/20/16, New name on NXT TV soon?, Summerslam press, Interview with JR, Steph book title, Joey Styles makes surprise appearance, Eva publishes Wellness statement, and Questions on inducting Brody, WWE signing The Elite, Aron Rex, and Conor's comments
Superstars:
- Cara vs. Axel:
Sin Cara not wasting any time going for the win! I like that.
This is fine so far. I assume SC's going to be a random cruiserweight guy soon. They've got their work cut out for them in differentiating the likes of him, Metalik, and Dorado (if the latter are signed and work the main roster).
Sin Cara's definitely impressive.
Axel working his way to the bottom of the card. I almost want there to be a Jobber Championship and Jobber Tag Team Championships that are like golf: the lowest records win.
- Bo vs. Swagger:
Former NXT Champion vs. Former ECW Champion...
Remember the Swagger Soaring Eagle pre-dates the Bo Train.
Bo's generally pretty funny.
This is pretty solid overall.
NICE ending spot.
WWE Chinese signing Bin Wang is in town for Summerslam weekend, so we could see him appearing on NXT TV this coming week.
Cesaro promoted Summerslam. About as compelling as the usual Cesaro promo... I can easily see him ending up in the Ziggler role of guy who wrestles a lot and works really hard, but is stuck at
Jim Ross talked about Summerslam and more. He's also not thrilled about Ambrose's appearance on the Stone Cold podcast. I can definitely see why people think he's coasting.
More Summerslam promotion:
Randy Orton
Kevin Owens
AJ Styles
Seth Rollins
Stephanie McMahon's book will be called unREAL. That's a really uninspired name. Not Billion Dollar Dreams? I would have even preferred Lady Balls to that name.
Joey Styles made a surprise return to announcing at an EVOLVE show this weekend. This show happened right before Takeover, and also featured Cody Rhodes working there for his first weekend. I wonder how WWE took EVOLVE capitalizing on Styles being fired and Cody quitting.
Eva Marie posted her statement about violating the Wellness policy. Hopefully she stays low for a while instead of trying to pull an Adam Rose.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I guess they didn't want to draw attention to inducting a deceased wrestler. I would expect Brody to be inducted at some point, though.
2. It's not a matter of WWE calling, but how badly they want him. He's got a cushy spot in NJPW; he won't give that up easily.
3. Not soon enough! Sometime in either late 2016 or early 2017. I imagine they're in a similar position to Omega as far as another promotion needing to offer them a lot of money and a main roster spot for them to jump ship. I'm perfectly fine with only seeing them occasionally in ROH, but I'm sure WWE/TNA/LU would love to pick them up.
4. I would have liked it better IF they explained it as him being Aaron before he was Sandow, and Rex being Latin for King. Even then, it's not a great name. Aaron Stevens would have been fine.
5. GOODNIGHT CONORMANIACS AND JABRONI MARKS WHO DON'T KNOW IT A WORK WHEN YOU WORK A WORK AND WORK YOURSELF INTO A SHOOT - CM. Conor knew what he was doing. I'm sure he believes some of his own hype, but he could easily be trying to get a WWE payday if MMA doesn't work out.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Cara vs. Axel:
Sin Cara not wasting any time going for the win! I like that.
This is fine so far. I assume SC's going to be a random cruiserweight guy soon. They've got their work cut out for them in differentiating the likes of him, Metalik, and Dorado (if the latter are signed and work the main roster).
Sin Cara's definitely impressive.
Axel working his way to the bottom of the card. I almost want there to be a Jobber Championship and Jobber Tag Team Championships that are like golf: the lowest records win.
- Bo vs. Swagger:
Former NXT Champion vs. Former ECW Champion...
Remember the Swagger Soaring Eagle pre-dates the Bo Train.
Bo's generally pretty funny.
This is pretty solid overall.
NICE ending spot.
WWE Chinese signing Bin Wang is in town for Summerslam weekend, so we could see him appearing on NXT TV this coming week.
Cesaro promoted Summerslam. About as compelling as the usual Cesaro promo... I can easily see him ending up in the Ziggler role of guy who wrestles a lot and works really hard, but is stuck at
Jim Ross talked about Summerslam and more. He's also not thrilled about Ambrose's appearance on the Stone Cold podcast. I can definitely see why people think he's coasting.
More Summerslam promotion:
Randy Orton
Kevin Owens
AJ Styles
Seth Rollins
Stephanie McMahon's book will be called unREAL. That's a really uninspired name. Not Billion Dollar Dreams? I would have even preferred Lady Balls to that name.
Joey Styles made a surprise return to announcing at an EVOLVE show this weekend. This show happened right before Takeover, and also featured Cody Rhodes working there for his first weekend. I wonder how WWE took EVOLVE capitalizing on Styles being fired and Cody quitting.
Eva Marie posted her statement about violating the Wellness policy. Hopefully she stays low for a while instead of trying to pull an Adam Rose.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I guess they didn't want to draw attention to inducting a deceased wrestler. I would expect Brody to be inducted at some point, though.
2. It's not a matter of WWE calling, but how badly they want him. He's got a cushy spot in NJPW; he won't give that up easily.
3. Not soon enough! Sometime in either late 2016 or early 2017. I imagine they're in a similar position to Omega as far as another promotion needing to offer them a lot of money and a main roster spot for them to jump ship. I'm perfectly fine with only seeing them occasionally in ROH, but I'm sure WWE/TNA/LU would love to pick them up.
4. I would have liked it better IF they explained it as him being Aaron before he was Sandow, and Rex being Latin for King. Even then, it's not a great name. Aaron Stevens would have been fine.
5. GOODNIGHT CONORMANIACS AND JABRONI MARKS WHO DON'T KNOW IT A WORK WHEN YOU WORK A WORK AND WORK YOURSELF INTO A SHOOT - CM. Conor knew what he was doing. I'm sure he believes some of his own hype, but he could easily be trying to get a WWE payday if MMA doesn't work out.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Big Guy teasing future, Del Rio-WWE update, HBK heading to the PC, Vince stock update, MMA name at WWEPC, Sasha visits NYC wrestling school, Supercard of Honor announcement, Interview with Ziggler, another Wellness suspension, wrestling author passes, NXT, first Smackdown live event booked against Raw, Summerslam weekend guests, Renee injury update, and Questions on Taker's status, Joey's future in wrestling, booking WM33 week events in advance, Extreme Rising, upstart promotions, and Terri Runnels
The Big Guy is teasing heading to NJPW, releasing a shirt with "The Big Guy Jin" and Japanese lettering. That's hilarious and I hope he can run with it there.
TNA is interested in Alberto Del Rio, who will be able to entertain offers outside of WWE soon. If he does go work for Combate Americas and/or take regular bookings in Mexico, he could also work TNA when his schedule allows. There's no word of an offer from ROH or LU. He would definitely be a big name to join any roster. Of course, he could end up staying with WWE, but he has other viable options depending on what his goals are. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about Paige's status based on his, but their relationship is a factor to consider.
Shawn Michaels is expected to relocate his family to Orlando soon in order to become a top coach at the WWEPC. That's a big addition to WWE developmental. I'd love for Undertaker to take a similar role once his in-ring days are done.
Vince McMahon still owns 35.5 million shares of WWE stock, which is more than 45 percent of the company. His recent sale, coupled with another one a few months ago, means he owns less of the company than he did at the beginning of the year. It's still very much his company, but it looks like he's slowly phasing himself out in favor of the next generation.
MMA's Shayna Beszler recently trained at the WWEPC. Beszler also regularly trains with Natalya as she begins her wrestling career. She currently wrestles in SHIMMER, but presumably she's on WWE's radar, too. At 36, it's unknown if they'd make a play for her.
Sasha Banks recently visited the House of Glory wrestling school run by Amazing Red and Brian XL. I wouldn't be surprised to see Red get a shot at the cruiserweight division at some point; he was being considered for the CWC before an injury shelved him.
ROH Supercard of Honor XI will feature talents from CMLL, NJPW, and the UK. That is leading to speculation of Will Ospreay appearing. That's pretty far out to book him! The IWC will probably have moved on to a new flippy guy by then.... and then dropped him in favor of another flippy guy.
Dolph Ziggler spoke about the brand split and more:
- One thing that turns me off of Ziggler is how the WWE Title match is just about having fun instead of being in a really important position on the second-biggest WWE show of the year. He cares more about having a great match than being successful.
- There was definitely competition between Raw and Smackdown when the other brand split started.
- I still don't really care about Ziggler. I'm sure they'll have a great match, but he'll go right back to doing the same thing he's done for years: doing a bunch of bumps and talking about how hard he works as if that's all it takes to be a top guy.
WWE has suspended Eva Marie for 30 days for violating the Wellness Policy. She will miss Summerslam and Backlash. She was already in town for Summerslam activities, and was filming material for "Total Divas." This could definitely end whatever push they had planned for her on the Smackdown brand. They'll have to shuffle the deck with the five remaining members of the division. Adding Bayley and/or Nikki Bella will certainly help, but they're really lacking in the heel department with Eva missing time.
Wrestling author and historian Scott Williams suddenly passed at the age of 49 recently. Williams was an editor for the Wrestling Observer and had worked on a number of wrestling books, including Jim Ross' upcoming autobiography. His loss will really be felt by those of us who follow the business.
WWE has released King Constantine from NXT, after around 18 months with the brand. He had only worked 10 matches, none of which were televised. He had an impressive background in amateur wrestling and was 6'9" (and you can't. teach. that), so it's a real shame he didn't click. However, his departure opens up a spot for someone else to work out and hopefully excel.
WWE has booked a Smackdown-brand live event opposite Raw on August 29. The plan is to have those on Mondays every week so the Smackdown talents have the same number of dates as Raw talents. Otherwise they're on the road for Sunday and then doing nothing until Tuesday.
Oscar from Men on a Mission is in town for Summerslam, as are the families of Ultimate Warrior and Connor Michalek. I expect more names to show up for the big event.
Renee Young gave an update on her ankle injury. She's a trooper.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It means it's not even close to WM33, and anything can happen between now and then in regard to Taker's status for the show. It also means people read way too much into tiny things. Not everything's The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure.
1. It means it's not even close to WM33, and anything can happen between now and then in regard to Taker's status for the show. It also means people read way too much into tiny things. Not everything's The Da Vinci Code or National Treasure.
2. He's already taking bookings, so I suspect we'll find out soon.
3. All of that, and they need to go ahead and book a venue before it's taken by someone else!
4. I would assume Extreme Rising remains buried. Such is the case for so many upstart promotions, sadly.
5. They still want to make it a thing! There hasn't been anything about it getting off the ground, though.
6. She was at WM32 weekend and still gives interviews about the business.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Main Event Reax - 8/17/16 and ROH Reax - 8/18/16
Read on for my thoughts on this week's episodes of Main Event and ROH.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Smackdown dark matches, upcoming ROH matches, Interviews with Omega/Shockmaster/Enzo/CFO$/Enzo+Cass, Smackdown visitor, HHH conference call, two Wellness suspensions, Smackdown audience, Vince sells a lot of stock, Summerslam visitor, TNA executive shakeup update, new TNA trademark, former TNA Champion missing TV, WWE animated movie trailer, Titus to speak, and Questions on booking superstars for movies, steroids for recovery, missed Sting plans, booking Meng as a tough guy, and splitting Carmella from Enzo and Cass
After Smackdown, KFC filmed a commercial where Dolph Ziggler, dressed as Col. Sanders, beat The Miz, dressed as a chicken. That sounds absolutely AMAZING. I believe we'll see the results during Summerslam.
Also after Smackdown, Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins. Roman's still in the Jannetty position as far as Summerslam goes, but it made sense to end the taping with a babyface win.
ROH announced some new matches for upcoming events:
- Adam Cole/Young Bucks vs. Jay Lethal/Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle Sept. 16 in Pittsburgh, Penn.
- The Briscoes vs. Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle and an Honor Rumble for a future shot at the ROH World Championship Sept. 17 in Lockport, NY.
- Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Dalton Castle Sept. 24 in Duluth, Georgia.
Kenny Omega talked about the G1 Climax and more:
- I absolutely think guys like Cena and Rollins could excel in that environment if they were prepared for that style instead of what they do now.
- Omega pretty much outright saying his goal is to go from Japan to somewhere else at some point. It will be interesting to see where he ends up. I really wonder if he can excel in another promotion at the same level.
- Connor McGregor is an awesome heel. He's every frat bro's dream.
- Great for Ottman for taking the Shockmaster role and running with it.
Michelle McCool was at Smackdown. No official word on where The Undertaker was there, too.
Enzo Amore promoted Summerslam:
- I can definitely see him being a nightmare in the classroom due to his mouth.
- Even his interviews are hilarious.
- NXT has a solid cult following, especially in certain markets and around big WWE events that bring in fans from surrounding areas. It's popular, but sometimes that popularity is overstated. It's definitely not at the level of the main roster as far as popularity goes.
Triple H did a conference call to promote Saturday's Takeover special:
- Ember Moon can definitely be a player if her reputation from live events and before NXT is any indication.
- So, they're also taping an episode of NXT TV this weekend.
- I'm not sure I want to see the CWC format in the division on Raw, but it'd definitely be something different from what we usually see. Hopefully that would get some interest in the revived division.
- So, yes, we'll see cruiserweight guys in NXT "training" for spots in the main roster division like we see women train for spots in that division on the main roster. I wouldn't assume they'll have their own title in NXT or anything, but it will be a proving ground for future main roster names.
- I definitely like the women not being in a vanity division, being treated as wrestlers in their own right. It's a nice change of pace from previous approaches.
- Ibushi's definitely a special talent. I'm curious to see how things work out with him in the future.
- Corey Graves is a really great commentator. I'm glad he's getting such a big stage now.
- HBK joining the WWEPC would certainly bring a wealth of knowledge to things.
- Having the CWC winner as the first champion is a no-brainer, but they could also crown a first champion at a bigger stage (Raw or a PPV). Maybe the CWC winner will earn a spot in the first title match?
WWE suspended Alberto Del Rio for his violation of the Wellness Policy. His suspension became effective Thursday, August 18. That's disappointing. He could have been an important player for Smackdown, but now someone else will get that opportunity (at least for the time being).
- WWE later announced Paige was also suspended for violating the Wellness Policy. Whether the two suspensions are related is anyone's guess, but the timing is pretty interesting given their off-screen relationship.
Smackdown's audience this week was 2.47 million, slightly up from last week. We'll see how things go after Summerslam and Backlash establish the major players for the brand.
Vince McMahon sold nearly 1.55 million shares of WWE stock for estate planning. That's a little surprising given his firm belief he's not going to pass away. I wouldn't read much of anything into that as far as him retiring or anything.
Shawn Michaels is expected to be in town for Summerslam weekend. This may or may not mean he's finalizing his role of coming into the WWEPC.
Dixie Carter has not been at TNA TV tapings lately. Since she's moving into a long-term planning position for the company, she might not be present at tapings much if at all going forward. It will be very interesting to see if anything major changes with Billy Corgan taking over the president role. Bob Ryder is also on hand as an executive backstage at TNA.
TNA has applied to trademark Aron Rex, so the former Damien Sandow will use that name exclusively for TNA bookings.
James Storm has missed most of the recent TNA tapings following losing his KOTM Championship. He is taking a vacation that was planned in advance. I'm interested to see where he fits into things after BFG. He can be an important player if they want him to. After signing that exclusive contract.
WWE released a trailer for Surf's Up 2, featuring WWE stars in voice acting roles. I'm pleasantly surprised Taker's doing this kind of thing. It hardly fits in with his character.
Titus O'Neil will speak for TEDxUCLA on May 20, 2017. That's pretty cool for him.
WWE.com talked to CFO$, who make a lot of entrance themes now. It's pretty cool to see their process and how they got involved in WWE.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass talked to promote Summerslam. They're really over despite never being tag team champions in NXT or the main roster. It's cool to hear Enzo's journey to WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The "suits," basically. Sometimes someone will want a different talent for something, but WWE persuades them to use someone else instead because WWE wants that talent featured.
2. There's a big difference between using steroids to recover from an injury compared to using them to get a certain look. If the doctors think steroids are appropriate as a temporary recovery method, I don't see a problem with it.
3. There were whispers of Bray vs. Sting taking place at WM32, but nothing definite.
4. I think it's something like how a great Shakespearean actor isn't necessarily the best fit for a kids' comedy. It doesn't mean the actor isn't talented; just that they're not in the right area for those skills to be appreciated. Neither company saw him as a compelling enough character to push beyond being a threat to more important people. Maybe it's something like Low Ki being too small for Vince to book as a big name despite his obvious tenacity?
5. Two reasons. They REALLY needed another woman for Smackdown's division, and keeping Carmella separate means she has to be compelling enough as a character and good enough in the ring to get over without Enzo and Cass. I think it's a smart move for those reasons.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Also after Smackdown, Roman Reigns beat Seth Rollins. Roman's still in the Jannetty position as far as Summerslam goes, but it made sense to end the taping with a babyface win.
ROH announced some new matches for upcoming events:
- Adam Cole/Young Bucks vs. Jay Lethal/Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle Sept. 16 in Pittsburgh, Penn.
- The Briscoes vs. Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle and an Honor Rumble for a future shot at the ROH World Championship Sept. 17 in Lockport, NY.
- Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Dalton Castle Sept. 24 in Duluth, Georgia.
Kenny Omega talked about the G1 Climax and more:
- I absolutely think guys like Cena and Rollins could excel in that environment if they were prepared for that style instead of what they do now.
- Omega pretty much outright saying his goal is to go from Japan to somewhere else at some point. It will be interesting to see where he ends up. I really wonder if he can excel in another promotion at the same level.
- Connor McGregor is an awesome heel. He's every frat bro's dream.
- Great for Ottman for taking the Shockmaster role and running with it.
Michelle McCool was at Smackdown. No official word on where The Undertaker was there, too.
Enzo Amore promoted Summerslam:
- I can definitely see him being a nightmare in the classroom due to his mouth.
- Even his interviews are hilarious.
- NXT has a solid cult following, especially in certain markets and around big WWE events that bring in fans from surrounding areas. It's popular, but sometimes that popularity is overstated. It's definitely not at the level of the main roster as far as popularity goes.
Triple H did a conference call to promote Saturday's Takeover special:
- Ember Moon can definitely be a player if her reputation from live events and before NXT is any indication.
- So, they're also taping an episode of NXT TV this weekend.
- I'm not sure I want to see the CWC format in the division on Raw, but it'd definitely be something different from what we usually see. Hopefully that would get some interest in the revived division.
- So, yes, we'll see cruiserweight guys in NXT "training" for spots in the main roster division like we see women train for spots in that division on the main roster. I wouldn't assume they'll have their own title in NXT or anything, but it will be a proving ground for future main roster names.
- I definitely like the women not being in a vanity division, being treated as wrestlers in their own right. It's a nice change of pace from previous approaches.
- Ibushi's definitely a special talent. I'm curious to see how things work out with him in the future.
- Corey Graves is a really great commentator. I'm glad he's getting such a big stage now.
- HBK joining the WWEPC would certainly bring a wealth of knowledge to things.
- Having the CWC winner as the first champion is a no-brainer, but they could also crown a first champion at a bigger stage (Raw or a PPV). Maybe the CWC winner will earn a spot in the first title match?
WWE suspended Alberto Del Rio for his violation of the Wellness Policy. His suspension became effective Thursday, August 18. That's disappointing. He could have been an important player for Smackdown, but now someone else will get that opportunity (at least for the time being).
- WWE later announced Paige was also suspended for violating the Wellness Policy. Whether the two suspensions are related is anyone's guess, but the timing is pretty interesting given their off-screen relationship.
Smackdown's audience this week was 2.47 million, slightly up from last week. We'll see how things go after Summerslam and Backlash establish the major players for the brand.
Vince McMahon sold nearly 1.55 million shares of WWE stock for estate planning. That's a little surprising given his firm belief he's not going to pass away. I wouldn't read much of anything into that as far as him retiring or anything.
Shawn Michaels is expected to be in town for Summerslam weekend. This may or may not mean he's finalizing his role of coming into the WWEPC.
Dixie Carter has not been at TNA TV tapings lately. Since she's moving into a long-term planning position for the company, she might not be present at tapings much if at all going forward. It will be very interesting to see if anything major changes with Billy Corgan taking over the president role. Bob Ryder is also on hand as an executive backstage at TNA.
TNA has applied to trademark Aron Rex, so the former Damien Sandow will use that name exclusively for TNA bookings.
James Storm has missed most of the recent TNA tapings following losing his KOTM Championship. He is taking a vacation that was planned in advance. I'm interested to see where he fits into things after BFG. He can be an important player if they want him to. After signing that exclusive contract.
WWE released a trailer for Surf's Up 2, featuring WWE stars in voice acting roles. I'm pleasantly surprised Taker's doing this kind of thing. It hardly fits in with his character.
Titus O'Neil will speak for TEDxUCLA on May 20, 2017. That's pretty cool for him.
WWE.com talked to CFO$, who make a lot of entrance themes now. It's pretty cool to see their process and how they got involved in WWE.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass talked to promote Summerslam. They're really over despite never being tag team champions in NXT or the main roster. It's cool to hear Enzo's journey to WWE.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The "suits," basically. Sometimes someone will want a different talent for something, but WWE persuades them to use someone else instead because WWE wants that talent featured.
2. There's a big difference between using steroids to recover from an injury compared to using them to get a certain look. If the doctors think steroids are appropriate as a temporary recovery method, I don't see a problem with it.
3. There were whispers of Bray vs. Sting taking place at WM32, but nothing definite.
4. I think it's something like how a great Shakespearean actor isn't necessarily the best fit for a kids' comedy. It doesn't mean the actor isn't talented; just that they're not in the right area for those skills to be appreciated. Neither company saw him as a compelling enough character to push beyond being a threat to more important people. Maybe it's something like Low Ki being too small for Vince to book as a big name despite his obvious tenacity?
5. Two reasons. They REALLY needed another woman for Smackdown's division, and keeping Carmella separate means she has to be compelling enough as a character and good enough in the ring to get over without Enzo and Cass. I think it's a smart move for those reasons.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
GFW update, Post-Raw dark match, Brock pushes WWE 2K17, Interviews with Bryan/Corgan, more on Nia's opponent, Mahoney cause of death, trespassing fan arrested, Raw audience, upcoming ROH shows and matches, WWE registers trademarks for CWC name, and Questions on Enzo's intro, Vince as an announcer, Ryback's contract issues, and changing Roman's entrance
GFW continues discussions to air its TV shows. They've really got their work cut out for them in getting momentum going with WWE, TNA, ROH, and LU already on TV and taking talent. Of the people who worked their TV tapings, PJ Black (LU), KUSHIDA (NJPW/ROH), Curt Hawkins (WWE), Bobby Roode (NXT), Shelton Benjamin (WWE), Luke Gallows (WWE), and Karl Anderson (WWE) would be unavailable for future tapings. Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee are in TNA, but would potentially still be able to work GFW shows. It's worth noting GFW still runs live events, so the project's not dead by any means.
After Raw, John Cena and Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins and Chris Jericho. Roman's now officially the Jannetty of The Shield I guess.
Brock Lesnar called out Goldberg as part of promotion for WWE 2K17. I would still watch the hell out of that match in 2016. Also, I really want to see Scott Steiner do these next year. Like, that could be the whole game. Just pick a superstar and Steiner cuts a promo on them.
Daniel Bryan talked about his new role and more. Good for him putting over the CWC. I also want to see Cedric get signed after everything he gave up and the showing he put on. As for Raw getting a cruiserweight division, it makes sense because they have more time to fill and it further shows how committed WWE is to a new era by not "burying" the division on Smackdown.
Nia Jax's opponent on Raw was Delilah Doom, who was trained by Funaki. I'm enjoying the squash matches returning. And who knows, maybe it leads to someone getting a more regular role in the company.
Billy Corgan discussed becoming president of TNA amid a bunch of Smashing Pumpkins talk. No way is TNA the second-biggest promotion in the world. In the U.S., maybe, but definitely not the world. He's got his work cut out for him making TNA a force, but I wish him the best in his fight.
Balls Mahoney's death has been ruled a natural heart attack due to disease. It's still a shame he passed away at what for most would be middle age.
The fan who ran into the ring during Raw was arrested. I really hope he gets the message not to do that kind of thing in the future. He REALLY crossed a line in biting a security guard, and there need to be precautions to prevent him from doing something destructive in the future (inside and outside of wrestling shows).
Raw's audience this week was 2.92 million, in-line with last week. The brand split is definitely a gamble, but I think it's one worth taking. Hopefully it pays off in the long run.
ROH will run Florida during WM33 weekend, with Supercard of Honor XI.
ROH's next TV taping will feature The Briscoes vs. Lio Rush/Jay White as well as RPG Vice/Toru Yano vs. The Addiction/Kamaitachi.
WWE has registered trademarks for Gran Metalik, continuing the speculation of him joining the company and keeping the name he's using in the CWC. He's currently part of CMLL as Mascara Dorada, but that could easily change as WWE looks to fill out a Cruiserweight division.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I thought he's always said stud. He certainly said stud in NXT. Is this like the Berenstain Bears thing? I don't know what to believe anymore!
2. Vince was perfect for calling the kind of product he wanted to call where the moves aren't as important as the story and the announcers argue with each other all the time. But if that's not your thing, of course you're going to prefer someone else.
Nothing to add to 3.
4. It's definitely not unique to wrestling. The people casting Harry Potter didn't think Robert Pattinson was leading role material. The people casting Twilight did. So he was paid at one level for one role and at a different level for a different role. Pattinson was lucky he had other movies to try out for where he could be a top guy and get top guy money. Ryback doesn't necessarily have that level of options.
5. I'm really shocked there weren't more problems during that entrance given the intensity of some people's dislike of Roman.
More wrestling tomorrow.
After Raw, John Cena and Dean Ambrose beat Seth Rollins and Chris Jericho. Roman's now officially the Jannetty of The Shield I guess.
Brock Lesnar called out Goldberg as part of promotion for WWE 2K17. I would still watch the hell out of that match in 2016. Also, I really want to see Scott Steiner do these next year. Like, that could be the whole game. Just pick a superstar and Steiner cuts a promo on them.
Daniel Bryan talked about his new role and more. Good for him putting over the CWC. I also want to see Cedric get signed after everything he gave up and the showing he put on. As for Raw getting a cruiserweight division, it makes sense because they have more time to fill and it further shows how committed WWE is to a new era by not "burying" the division on Smackdown.
Nia Jax's opponent on Raw was Delilah Doom, who was trained by Funaki. I'm enjoying the squash matches returning. And who knows, maybe it leads to someone getting a more regular role in the company.
Billy Corgan discussed becoming president of TNA amid a bunch of Smashing Pumpkins talk. No way is TNA the second-biggest promotion in the world. In the U.S., maybe, but definitely not the world. He's got his work cut out for him making TNA a force, but I wish him the best in his fight.
Balls Mahoney's death has been ruled a natural heart attack due to disease. It's still a shame he passed away at what for most would be middle age.
The fan who ran into the ring during Raw was arrested. I really hope he gets the message not to do that kind of thing in the future. He REALLY crossed a line in biting a security guard, and there need to be precautions to prevent him from doing something destructive in the future (inside and outside of wrestling shows).
Raw's audience this week was 2.92 million, in-line with last week. The brand split is definitely a gamble, but I think it's one worth taking. Hopefully it pays off in the long run.
ROH will run Florida during WM33 weekend, with Supercard of Honor XI.
ROH's next TV taping will feature The Briscoes vs. Lio Rush/Jay White as well as RPG Vice/Toru Yano vs. The Addiction/Kamaitachi.
WWE has registered trademarks for Gran Metalik, continuing the speculation of him joining the company and keeping the name he's using in the CWC. He's currently part of CMLL as Mascara Dorada, but that could easily change as WWE looks to fill out a Cruiserweight division.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I thought he's always said stud. He certainly said stud in NXT. Is this like the Berenstain Bears thing? I don't know what to believe anymore!
2. Vince was perfect for calling the kind of product he wanted to call where the moves aren't as important as the story and the announcers argue with each other all the time. But if that's not your thing, of course you're going to prefer someone else.
Nothing to add to 3.
4. It's definitely not unique to wrestling. The people casting Harry Potter didn't think Robert Pattinson was leading role material. The people casting Twilight did. So he was paid at one level for one role and at a different level for a different role. Pattinson was lucky he had other movies to try out for where he could be a top guy and get top guy money. Ryback doesn't necessarily have that level of options.
5. I'm really shocked there weren't more problems during that entrance given the intensity of some people's dislike of Roman.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Interviews with Bryan/Sasha/Joe, Paige update, Takeover Down Under?, more matches for Impact, HoFer teaching at WWEPC?, WWEPC staff changes including new producers for main roster, Goldberg at Summerslam weekend, new Network content, more WWE events set including No Mercy, Dunn sells stock, power outages at Raw, guest stars WWE tried to get for Summerslam, Big E update, new Summerslam match, Summerslam guest, Joey Styles update, and Questions on WWE comedy, pushing Cesaro, jobber interviews, and Orton beating Brock
Daniel Bryan talked about becoming Smackdown GM and more:
- He's way too passive to be an actual member of management or executive.
- I also wonder why Zayn's on the sidelines compared to the guy he beat to end their big feud.
- Apollo can hopefully make something of his impressive abilities. He could use more personality, though.
- I wouldn't mind some CWC names on Smackdown if for some reason they wouldn't fit in the actual division.
While Paige is still unable to compete, she's on the road filming material for "Total Divas." No word on when we'll see her wrestling again.
- Paige continues to train to get back into the ring.
NXT might hold a broadcast from next year's Australia tour. If there's a big enough house for a Takeover special, that'd be a big event. A TV taping would certainly be great, too.
Sasha Banks discussed the women's revolution and more:
- I also wasn't crazy about the start to the angle. The segment was more about Stephanie throwing teams together for the sake of it than anything.
- I look forward to seeing who makes their mark in NXT next. The brand is constantly evolving. No one has time to get too stale.
Announced for this week's Impact Wrestling:
- Moose vs. Eddie Edwards
- Eli Drake vs. Mahabali Shera
-- TNA has quite the variety of styles and experience levels on display.
- Moose vs. Eddie Edwards
- Eli Drake vs. Mahabali Shera
-- TNA has quite the variety of styles and experience levels on display.
Shawn Michaels could be joining the WWEPC as a full-time coach. He recently led Terry Taylor's "finishing class" following Taylor's neck surgery. That would be absolutely amazing given HBK's credibility and experience. He has a lot to teach.
- Michaels would have to uproot his family from Texas to Florida for the role, which he might not want to do ahead of his children starting a new school year. That's certainly an important factor to consider. Shawn is not set to be at the PC this week.
- Terry Taylor is back teaching his class in the meantime. He remains with the company, and that isn't expected to change.
Sara Amato (Sara Del Rey) and Adam Pearce are expected to soon join the main roster as producers as a result of the brand extension. This would mean new faces in their roles at the WWEPC. Scotty 2 Hotty and Stevie Richards recently worked as guest coaches, so those two names could be brought in as replacements. WWE has an incredible wealth of teachers and resources available.
Goldberg will be in town for Summerslam weekend, as there will be a media event for WWE 2K17. This is leading to speciation of him appearing at Sunday's event to set up one last match/run. Him doing a few PPVs and a HoF nod for WM33 would be a nice cap to his career, and get some casual fans to check out current WWE/subscribe to the Network. It's worth looking into.
Samoa Joe talked to promote Takeover. I'm very glad he can show the full extent of his abilities in WWE. He's been a great addition to NXT.
WWE Network added a collection based on the HHH/Shawn Michaels rivalry after fans voted for that option to be showcased. They definitely had some wars.
WWE has also added episodes of Up Up Down Down to the Network. So you can keep it tight outside of YouTube now. It's good when WWE lets talents do their thing without trying to take it over and make it their own.
WWE No Mercy will be held on October 9 in Sacramento, California. At some point, the number of hours of PPVs and TV shows is overkill. We'll see what the cards look like with Raw and Smackdown split; I expect more names will get a chance to show what they can do.
- WWE got press for No Mercy coming to Sacramento. It's a big milestone for that venue.
WWE has announced a Raw taping in Oakland, California on October 10, Canadian live events on October 14 (Edmonton) and 15 (Calgary), and another October 15 live event in Phoenix, Arizona.
Kevin Dunn sold 56,000 shares of WWE stock to pick up $1.15 million. I wouldn't read much into that beyond him wanting cash on hand. Presumably if he was transitioning out of his role, it would have been brought up at the recent conference call.
Local weather led to power outages at the site of Raw, but obviously the show ended up going live without a hitch.
WWE tried to get The Muppets to appear at Summerslam, but there was a scheduling conflict that prevented that from taking place. That could have been pretty fun, but could have been an odd fit on a show with Brock Lesnar.
Big E will not be working Summerslam due to his kayfabe injury at the hands of The Club. That'd be the perfect time to switch the tag team titles. It's not like New Day won't still be over.
Daniel Bryan had another big interview, critically leaving out the part about suffering concussion-related seizures leading to his retirement. This, along with other pieces by less-mainstream journalists, is at least irresponsible in its portrayal of Bryan's retirement by leaving out critical information or outright spreading misinformation.
Sheamus vs. Cesaro in the first match of a Best-Of-Seven Series has been added to Summerslam. So far it's just a series for the sake of them having good matches, but hopefully it becomes a battle for title contention. Otherwise, what's the point?
Jon Stewart will be appearing at Summerslam again this year. Why would Stephanie and Foley let him be on the show given what he pulled last year? He got involved in a critically important match!
Joey Styles is now taking bookings after leaving WWE. I'm a little surprised he's not doing any interviews.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Obviously someone likes that kind of thing or they wouldn't have greenlit it! Rusev is generally pretty fun in his role. WWE isn't going to stop being sports entertainment or anything anytime soon. Expecting them to is very unrealistic.
1. Obviously someone likes that kind of thing or they wouldn't have greenlit it! Rusev is generally pretty fun in his role. WWE isn't going to stop being sports entertainment or anything anytime soon. Expecting them to is very unrealistic.
2. My goodness! What's with people who think a push is going to happen in two weeks' time? We'll see what happens after this big series with Sheamus. It will definitely give us a lot of good action, which is what people always complain they want to see more of. After that, Cesaro could definitely be in title contention again.
3. I think they're great. Pretty much anything that makes a match more than random people doing MOVES is something I enjoy. Who are these people in the ring and what are they fighting for? That's what makes things entertaining.
4. I love the idea of David Otunga and Clarence Mason in a room with a talent and Vince, talking over details of the deals.
5. Building Orton's a good idea for the reasons mentioned. The Viper Bite's a good name, but Darren Young should keep the crossface chicken wing since he's working with Backlund. When Brock does lose, it REALLY needs to mean something.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Monday, August 15, 2016
NXT and WWE live event notes, possible post-Summerslam plans for Smackdown, ROH notes from NJPW, and Questions on CWC commentary, WWE signing Cedric, championship designs, bringing back WCW+ECW as brands, and WWE being happy to sign Booker
At an NXT live event in Florida:
- Danielle Kamela worked a six-woman tag in what might have been her first live event match. I expect more new female faces working more shows with the recent callups.
- The Ealy brothers (twins) cut a promo. I wonder how long it will be before we see them as a team on NXT TV.
Raw and Smackdown are still on WWE live events together, so the two rosters interacted in matches this weekend.
At a WWE live event in Texas:
- Kane beat The Miz by DQ. It's possible that's where the IC Title picture goes after Summerslam.
- Randy Orton beat Bray Wyatt, so that might be a feud we'll see for Backlash.
- Alberto Del Rio was involved in a WWE Title triple threat match also involving Ambrose and Ziggler. So, Alberto might be No. 1 Contender next.
-- All of the above is complete speculation based on the booking for live events. WWE might go in different directions after Summerslam takes place.
ROH notes from NJPW's event this weekend:
- The Briscoes retained the IWGP Tag Team Titles, beating Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi of Bullet Club. This week's ROH TV advanced this feud ahead of the title match, which was a nice touch.
- Jay Lethal retained the ROH World Championship against Satoshi Kojima. It would have been a real shame for DBD14's main event to be dropped at the last minute given the story between Lethal and Adam Cole.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. A lot of it is the CWC being kind of its own entity. Mauro and Bryan don't have to take time to talk about other segments/matches coming up, talk about what's trending on Twitter, push storylines, take a bunch of instructions from Vince, etc. I shudder to think of Mauro and Bryan having to call Raw for three hours with Vince dictating their every move, arguing with each other and burying things.
2. I'm leaning toward audible, too. HHH definitely didn't want the chants bleeding over into the next match or whatever. He needed to let the crowd know they'd been heard and he appreciated Cedric's performance.
3. I really hope they don't switch to a bunch of generic, similar designs. I like the new WWE Title, but I'd prefer there being more distinct flavor and color to the bel... ummm championships.
4. The worst thing they could do to sell a New Era would be trying to recreate companies that a good portion of the current audience never saw in their primes. WWE books for Little Jimmys and soccer moms; I don't see 2016 versions of WCW and ECW appealing to them as much as pushing something new and fresh.
5. Booker was employed by WWE for six years before voluntarily heading to TNA, and has been employed since 2011 after returning. He's a WWE Hall of Famer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's employed for some time to come. That definitely sounds like the McMahons like him to me. Wins, losses, and belts are all fake. If he's getting paid and used regularly, that's what's important.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Danielle Kamela worked a six-woman tag in what might have been her first live event match. I expect more new female faces working more shows with the recent callups.
- The Ealy brothers (twins) cut a promo. I wonder how long it will be before we see them as a team on NXT TV.
Raw and Smackdown are still on WWE live events together, so the two rosters interacted in matches this weekend.
At a WWE live event in Texas:
- Kane beat The Miz by DQ. It's possible that's where the IC Title picture goes after Summerslam.
- Randy Orton beat Bray Wyatt, so that might be a feud we'll see for Backlash.
- Alberto Del Rio was involved in a WWE Title triple threat match also involving Ambrose and Ziggler. So, Alberto might be No. 1 Contender next.
-- All of the above is complete speculation based on the booking for live events. WWE might go in different directions after Summerslam takes place.
ROH notes from NJPW's event this weekend:
- The Briscoes retained the IWGP Tag Team Titles, beating Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi of Bullet Club. This week's ROH TV advanced this feud ahead of the title match, which was a nice touch.
- Jay Lethal retained the ROH World Championship against Satoshi Kojima. It would have been a real shame for DBD14's main event to be dropped at the last minute given the story between Lethal and Adam Cole.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. A lot of it is the CWC being kind of its own entity. Mauro and Bryan don't have to take time to talk about other segments/matches coming up, talk about what's trending on Twitter, push storylines, take a bunch of instructions from Vince, etc. I shudder to think of Mauro and Bryan having to call Raw for three hours with Vince dictating their every move, arguing with each other and burying things.
2. I'm leaning toward audible, too. HHH definitely didn't want the chants bleeding over into the next match or whatever. He needed to let the crowd know they'd been heard and he appreciated Cedric's performance.
3. I really hope they don't switch to a bunch of generic, similar designs. I like the new WWE Title, but I'd prefer there being more distinct flavor and color to the bel... ummm championships.
4. The worst thing they could do to sell a New Era would be trying to recreate companies that a good portion of the current audience never saw in their primes. WWE books for Little Jimmys and soccer moms; I don't see 2016 versions of WCW and ECW appealing to them as much as pushing something new and fresh.
5. Booker was employed by WWE for six years before voluntarily heading to TNA, and has been employed since 2011 after returning. He's a WWE Hall of Famer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's employed for some time to come. That definitely sounds like the McMahons like him to me. Wins, losses, and belts are all fake. If he's getting paid and used regularly, that's what's important.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Superstars Reax - 8/13/16, Interview with Beefcake, set for Smackdown, and NXT live event notes
Superstars:
- Swagger vs. Mahal:
Hey, Jinder's getting regular work now. That's got to count for something, even if he's just going to go 1-75 this year.
Swagger really working Mahal over.
Oh, man. I really wanted to see Swagger pull out the Doctor Bomb. I miss ECW Champion era Jack.
I think Jack's probably just glad someone else is around to do some jobs. Good match, but it would have been better if we had a promo by a REAL AMERICAN like Zeb Colter.
- Zayn vs. Axel:
So, Zayn won the big feud with Kevin Owens at Battleground, but Owens is on the card at Summerslam while Zayn isn't? Seems kind of like a dropped ball.
I like Sami, but a lot of times he's a "check out my athleticism" guy rather than a great worker with athleticism.
This is heating up pretty well.
I was hoping that would go a little longer, but it was fine for what it was. I liked the work on Zayn's arm mattering.
Brutus Beefcake discussed his career:
- Beefcake always had the reputation of just being Hogan's friend, but he got over being a barber. That should count for something.
- Hair vs. hair feuds used to really mean something. Now ROH has someone cut someone else's hair because it's something heels used to do. No context to make it important that someone had their appearance ruined. It's just something done one week to try to get heat.
- The Edge and Christian show was a blast.
- I can't really see a big angle with Brutus in 2016 unless they randomly have someone get a haircut. I do think it'd be funny for Slater to pay Brutus (or even better, Virgil) off to do a job so he can finally get a contract with Raw or Smackdown.
Announced for this week's Smackdown:
- John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio
- Miz TV with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler
- Eva Marie in action(?)
-- Somewhat surprisingly, Del Rio isn't on the card for Summerslam. We'll see if that changes for Backlash when Smackdown needs more matches to fill out the card.
At NXT live events this weekend:
- Niko Bogojevic worked some more tag matches. He's a Wyatts-sized mastadon with an impressive Greco-Roman wrestling background. Working with fellow big guy Tucker Knight would indicate we're looking at another giant team in the vein of the Authors of Pain. We'll have to see whether that sticks or if it's just for Bogojevic and Knight getting more experience.
- Jeet Rama had a match with Noah Kekoa, who also works as Noah Potjes. No Kishan Raftar this time.
- Adrian Jaoude worked some live events, in a singles match losing to Murphy one show and teaming with Wesley Blake in a loss to Knight and Bogojevic on another show. I believe these were his debuts at this level. At any rate, he's just getting started working live matches. Jaoude was a freestyle wrestler in Brazil before joining NXT.
More wrestling tomorrow.
- Swagger vs. Mahal:
Hey, Jinder's getting regular work now. That's got to count for something, even if he's just going to go 1-75 this year.
Swagger really working Mahal over.
Oh, man. I really wanted to see Swagger pull out the Doctor Bomb. I miss ECW Champion era Jack.
I think Jack's probably just glad someone else is around to do some jobs. Good match, but it would have been better if we had a promo by a REAL AMERICAN like Zeb Colter.
- Zayn vs. Axel:
So, Zayn won the big feud with Kevin Owens at Battleground, but Owens is on the card at Summerslam while Zayn isn't? Seems kind of like a dropped ball.
I like Sami, but a lot of times he's a "check out my athleticism" guy rather than a great worker with athleticism.
This is heating up pretty well.
I was hoping that would go a little longer, but it was fine for what it was. I liked the work on Zayn's arm mattering.
Brutus Beefcake discussed his career:
- Beefcake always had the reputation of just being Hogan's friend, but he got over being a barber. That should count for something.
- Hair vs. hair feuds used to really mean something. Now ROH has someone cut someone else's hair because it's something heels used to do. No context to make it important that someone had their appearance ruined. It's just something done one week to try to get heat.
- The Edge and Christian show was a blast.
- I can't really see a big angle with Brutus in 2016 unless they randomly have someone get a haircut. I do think it'd be funny for Slater to pay Brutus (or even better, Virgil) off to do a job so he can finally get a contract with Raw or Smackdown.
Announced for this week's Smackdown:
- John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio
- Miz TV with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler
- Eva Marie in action(?)
-- Somewhat surprisingly, Del Rio isn't on the card for Summerslam. We'll see if that changes for Backlash when Smackdown needs more matches to fill out the card.
At NXT live events this weekend:
- Niko Bogojevic worked some more tag matches. He's a Wyatts-sized mastadon with an impressive Greco-Roman wrestling background. Working with fellow big guy Tucker Knight would indicate we're looking at another giant team in the vein of the Authors of Pain. We'll have to see whether that sticks or if it's just for Bogojevic and Knight getting more experience.
- Jeet Rama had a match with Noah Kekoa, who also works as Noah Potjes. No Kishan Raftar this time.
- Adrian Jaoude worked some live events, in a singles match losing to Murphy one show and teaming with Wesley Blake in a loss to Knight and Bogojevic on another show. I believe these were his debuts at this level. At any rate, he's just getting started working live matches. Jaoude was a freestyle wrestler in Brazil before joining NXT.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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