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Friday, December 30, 2016

Another TNA app correction, TNA-India update, more on MITB 2017, learn about Bruno, Sienna vs. cancer, ECW legend at WWE event, Anthem to seal the deal soon, JJ still in TNA talks, ROH champion re-signs, Whitmer update, Corino making moves, more ROH in the UK, more ROH taping matches, NJPW-U.S. update, Smackdown audience, TNA/AO1 update, and Questions on booing Reigns, WWE heel of the decade, announcers being paid per show, not doing Raw in MSG, the deluge of WWE content, and booking Zayn

TNA's UK app will show its first episode of Impact Wrestling on January 5 at the same time it airs in the U.S. and Canada. The app will apparently actually be 4.99 pounds a month and includes archive content. I hope that does well for them.

TNA's Indian tour is expected to finally happen this summer and be for multiple shows. I'm curious how that does for them. I'm under the impression Ring Ka King did pretty well attendance-wise, but that was years ago.

MITB 2017 is set to be a Smackdown-exclusive show. I'd much prefer it to be a show with both brands getting one of the signature matches. Heck, how about each brand has a winner get a briefcase that can be cashed on either show? The Smackdown MITB winner could sneak in and win on Raw or a Raw PPV and totally change the game.

A Bruno Sammartino class will be taught by WCW announcer Chris Cruise at a community college in Pittsburgh this spring. Interesting! Obviously they need a Kurt Angle class next. A history of pro wrestling class in general could be pretty cool. There's a good deal to look at there.

Sienna is doing a charity run on Valentine's Day to raise money for The Children's Tumor Foundation. That's great!

Jerry Lynn was visiting at WWE's live event in Tennessee. He'd be a great producer or trainer if they were interested!

Anthem is expected to officially take ownership of TNA on January 1. Fitting enough.

Anthem is continuing to have discussions with Jeff Jarrett, but nothing is official as far as him returning to TNA in any capacity. It will be interesting to see how he'd fit into things with Dixie still around. Jarrett is expected to continue GFW regardless.

Jay Lethal has signed a new contract with ROH. He's one of the pillars of the company.

BJ Whitmer could join Kevin Kelly on ROH commentary if he signs a new deal there. That would be GREAT.

Steve Corino is expected to leave ROH in the near future, likely joining WWE as a trainer. Sounds like a good move for Corino and for WWE. Corino vs. Whitmer was far and away one of the things in wrestling for a while, but it looks like his tenure there's going to end soon.

ROH is planning another UK tour for Summer 2017. That could be good for them; the market is really breaking out now.

Added to ROH's January 14 TV taping:
- Young Bucks vs. a team of their choosing. Should be interesting.
- Colt Cabana vs. Bobby Fish
- War Machine vs. BJ Whitmer/Punishment Martinez
- Kennadi Brink/Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai/Faye Jackson
-- Fish, War Machine, and Whitmer are not currently under contract for 2017, so this could be their last appearances. ROH Champion Kyle O'Reilly is also not locked in for next year.

NJPW is expected to announce two nights of the G1 Climax will be in California. That's big. I'm interested to see what NJPW's expansion into the U.S. will mean for ROH.

Smackdown's audience Tuesday was 2,89 million, a jump of more than 200,000 from last week. John Cena's return put the show ahead of Raw! We'll see if the followup does well for them, too.

TNA and Audience of One have not been able to work anything out in mediation. The lawsuit could change venue following a hearing in February regarding jurisdiction of the case.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Some people are going to boo the "Vince-approved important talent" no matter what. Reigns didn't go through the indies or an international scene, so they're not going to support his push.

2. Can't argue there. Honorable mention to Zeb Colter.

3. Wow. It'd be good to get them under a contract that gives them more for working more shows, as some names like Tom are really hustling.

4. MSG is seemingly shooting itself in the foot to some degree.

5. I think they can definitely water things down with so many offerings, but their argument is it's like having pop music, metal music, hip hop music, etc. It's all music, but with different styles.

6. I definitely question how they're using Zayn if he doesn't get anything big for Mania season. After the feud with Owens, he's been treading water. I hope he gets a boost this summer with a draft - there's no confirmation they'll have one, but it would be good to shuffle the deck by having a few names switch shows.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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